Royce Lewis Begins Road Back to Twins Lineup
The Minnesota Twins have raced out to a surprising 11-8 start this season . While there was plenty of reason for pessimism, they have played competent baseball to the point of making things interesting.
If that was going to be the reality, it was always going to require some positive momentum from post-hype players. None of them were going to be more important than Royce Lewis.
Minnesota needed the 2023 version (149 OPS+) to return, and early indications were that he was on his way. Unfortunately an injury shelved him just 12 games in, but it appears he’s already on the mend.
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Rehab assignment moves Royce Lewis closer to MN Twins return
After being placed on the 10-day injured list with a grade one lateral collateral ligament strain, the Minnesota Twins suggested the downtime would be brief . Now nearing eligibility to return, it appears they were right.
Lewis went through a full workout pregame on Friday , and he will be assessed on Saturday morning. Assuming he wakes up with no setbacks, he’ll begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.
In six games since Lewis was placed on the injured list, the Twins have gone 4-2 . He will be welcomed back with open arms when first eligible however, as he is a sizable upgrade over either Ryan Kreidler or Tristan Gray.
The expectation should be that Lewis will play in back-to-back contests for the Saints on Saturday and Sunday. That would give both the player and team a level of comfort prior to bringing him on the road trip that starts in New York on Tuesday .
Through his first 12 games this season, Lewis has batted .222/.378/.444 with two walks and two home runs. While he has 12 strikeouts, his eight walks are beyond indicative of a more patient and dialed in approach. Lewis owns a career 7.8% walk rate , and carried just a 6.2% tall last season. This year he’s rocking a 17.8% number.
If Lewis can keep up this plate approach, there should be no reason why he can’t return to the high levels of production we saw from him while launching grand slams in droves. The defense remains a work in progress , and more lower body injuries aren’t going to help that.
Both Lewis and the team have to be hoping this is his only trip to the injured list this season. Last year he played in a career-high 106 games. It’s because of his desire for consistency this year that he gave into the idea of a quick downtime rather than playing through the latest malady.
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