Twins third baseman Royce Lewis entered the season with many expecting him to have a breakout year. He hit a home run in his first at-bat. And then he was injured. After only two plate appearances, Lewis went down with a severe quad strain. He was expected to miss two months and that estimation looks like it'll come almost exactly to fruition.
Friday, the Twins announced that Lewis will start a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday. He'll start out as a designated hitter. The assumption is he'll work in the field shortly thereafter, and once he has a few games under his belt to get his timing back, he'll rejoin the Twins.
Lewis was the No. 1 overall draft pick out of high school in 2017 and he's been outstanding at the major-league level so far in his career. In 71 MLB regular-season games, he's hit .313/.369/.564 (156 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 18 homers, 58 RBI, 42 runs, six steals and 2.9 WAR. In six playoff games last year, he homered four times. Performance has never been an issue.
Staying on the field, though, has been the issue. He tore his ACL in both 2021 and 2022. He's also dealt with a bone bruise, a strained oblique and strained hamstring.
Without Lewis, the Twins have had quite the roller coaster of a season. They started 7-13, then won 17 of 20 before losing seven in a row. Still, thanks to that extended hot streak, they are right in the thick of contention.
Entering Friday, Twins' third baseman this season had hit .232/.310/.387 and Lewis is certainly better than that, long-term. If he can avoid another injury, the Twins will soon get an uptick in production at the hot corner.
