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MN Twins Optimistic About Royce Lewis Injury
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- MN Twins Optimistic About Royce Lewis Injury
Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images
The Twins made it through their first 14 games of the season before losing Royce Lewis to injury. Despite having played a career-high 106 games last season, stints on the injured list have become synonymous with Lewis through his career.
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Through the Twins first 13 games , Lewis had appeared in all but one of them. Then in the fourth game of a home sweep against Detroit , Lewis tweaked his knee. He stayed in the game, ran out an infield single and was active on the basepaths.
Royce Lewis just took a swing and immediately walked towards the dugout in pain.
He stayed in and beat out an infield single with good speed though.
Looks to be ok.
Bases loaded for Brooks Lee . pic.twitter.com/NS6NFtlQoARelated Headlines
— Ted (@tlschwerz) April 9, 2026
When landing in Toronto on Friday, Lewis wasn't in the lineup. It was announced he'd hit the injured list , but at least this time, the MN Twins believe it's a minor malady.
Royce Lewis expected to miss minimal time for Minnesota Twins
When he pulled up following the swing against Detroit, Lewis immediately limped in pain. The injury has been classified as a Grade 1 strain of the lateral collateral ligament. The infielder told Dan Hayes (The Athletic) he expects to miss minimal time, but is playing it smart.
"If I could, I'd be playing, probably (Sunday). But it just wasn't smart to push it. … If I played through it, I probably would have made things worse long-term, and I'm looking ahead to the next 140 games."
At this point, Lewis has to feel relatively in tune with his body. He missed time last year with a. hamstring strain, and has torn the ACL in his right knee twice. There has also been a quad strain and oblique issue.
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Lewis put in significant work this offseason to work on his body and fine tune his swing. His patience at the plate has generated a .378 OBP through 45 plate appearances. His 17.8% walk rate is more than double his career-average as well.
Should the Minnesota Twins fare better than their preseason projections , then someone like Royce Lewis factoring in substantially will be part of the equation. Retroactive to April 10, Lewis is first eligible to return on April 20.
Ryan Kreidler was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take Lewis' spot on the roster. The veteran infielder was claimed this offseason from Pittsburgh .
Andrew Morris promoted to MN Twins
Lewis wasn't the only player Derek Shelton lost on Friday. Relief pitcher Cody Laweryson hit the injured list with a right forearm strain as well. Although Minnesota Twins pitching prospect Andrew Morris has operated as a starter, he was promoted to take the roster spot.
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Morris was initially slated to start for the St. Paul Saints on Sunday. Through his first two outings this year, he has allowed one run on five hits with a 5/2 K/BB in 7 1/3 innings. He'll likely work in a piggyback or long-relief fashion in order to stay stretched out as a starter.
Andrew Morris 🔥
The @Twins ' No. 9 prospect fans three in three scoreless innings — preserving his 0.00 ERA through three spring outings. pic.twitter.com/43yed5labB— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 11, 2025
Whenever Morris takes the mound for the first time, he will be making his major league debut. As one of the Twins best pitching prospects, he is someone to keep an eye on. Kendry Rojas , who started the year injured , returned to the Saints roster and will instead start on Sunday in Morris' spot.
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