For most of spring training, the 9-12-3 Grapefruit League Minnesota Twins have been able to stay mostly healthy, through the first month of Spring Training. As should be expected, no team is going to escape spring injuries.
Down in Fort Myers this year, they've lost Michael Tonkin and Brock Stewart for the start of the 2025 regular season, along with other injuries to some of their top prospects, Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez. Neither top 15 MLB prospect has returned to the field, but both expect back sooner than later.
Credit: Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Unfortunately, the Twins' Opening Day "mostly healthy" designation took a big hit over the weekend, when Royce Lewis pulled his left hamstring vs the Red Sox Sunday, running to first base. We've since found out that the 25-year-old infielder is not going to be ready for game one of 162 . Most "moderate hamstring strain" timeline projections put his return out to mid/late April, at the earliest.
Still, the Minesota Twins do not appear frazzled by Lewis's latest injury or its return timeline. They see his injury as more mild compared to the quad strain that forced him to miss months of the 2024 season. Manager Rocco Baldelli joined the Foul Territory show Tuesday where he preached calm and patience.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has no doubt that Royce Lewis will make a quick return to the field.
"He's come back from more difficult things than this." pic.twitter.com/2x3xelYC5M— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 18, 2025
"It's always going to be emotional dealing with stuff like this. He has a moderate hamstring strain. He is going to start the year on the injured list. That we know, and we have to let that kind of get by us, and get by the initial pain of going through it. Then, get back to work. We're going to be there, we're going to support him. We're going to give him everything he needs physically and conversationally.
You don't want him to feel that pressure. All he has to do is get healthy and play his game when he's out there…No one that has dealt with injuries, and dealt with them the way that he has, is going to just say it's no big deal. Of course it's a big deal. You just have to put your head down and keep working. He's come back from more difficult things than this. He's a pretty quick healer too, so I have no doubt he'll be back soon."
There's a lot to unpack here. Royce Lewis is injured again. He has played just 152 games across three big league seasons . He has torn his right ACL multiple times and has dealt with a myriad of soft tissue injuries. Lewis started 2-for-2, including a home run, before he pulled his quad muscle . That kept him out of action until June 4 .
The Minnesota Twins know what sort of player they have when he's healthy. On the other hand, Lewis has also proven himself to be somewhat emotional , at times. Rocco & Co also seem to be protecting his mental health this spring by handing him the 3rd base job without competition.
Related: 2025 Minnesota Twins Opening Day Roster Projection (2.0)
Lewis wants to be back on the field as soon as possible. He has 33 home runs and a .268/.327/.497 slash line during his career. The ceiling puts him as a perennial MVP candidate if he could remain on the field. Minnesota can't afford for him to dictate the timeline though, and his injury must heal.
As The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman points out , Jorge Polanco missed six weeks with a moderate hamstring injury in 2023. Following that same sort of timeline puts Lewis on the shelf through April, even if he is hoping to return sooner than that. Given what he has dealt with previously, anything prior to mid-May would be a win.
The sound off Royce Lewis's bat is just different 💥 pic.twitter.com/MHophJ6FI2
— MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2025
No player wants a lengthy rehab, and Lewis has always pushed to get back on the field as soon as possible. With the timetable in front of him, it's a given he'll need at least a handful of games at Triple-A St. Paul to settle back in.
Minnesota has a late homestand with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels at the end of April. They also return home against Baltimore on May 6. Both of those windows could be realistic opportunities for a 2025 debut.
Arguably no one benefits more from Lewis' injury than Brooks Lee. He was stuck in the competition for a starting second base job, and this gives him another place to play. He got the first Spring Training start at the hot corner once Lewis went down.
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Lee hasn't lit Florida on fire as he is batting .238/.273/.381 through 14 Grapefruit League games . Still, he could be best positioned to play third base, or at least spell multiple infield spots. Jose Miranda is also now likely to get more time on the infield than sporadic starts behind Ty France , or operating as the designated hitter.
Related: Latest Round of Minnesota Twins Roster Cuts Announced
An additional need for infield depth could push Mickey Gasper onto the roster as one of the final bench players as well. If that plays out he would likely bump Austin Martin back to Triple-A.
Minnesota has six more games to figure out what they will take north with them to St. Louis.
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