The next portion of the schedule is significantly tougher with series against the Guardians, Red Sox, Orioles, and Giants.

The Twins will need all hands on deck to make it through this gauntlet. Unfortunately, not all of the team’s key players will be able to return over the next two weeks.

Twins president Derek Falvey was on Inside Twins on Sunday, and was asked about some key injured players and when they are expected to return. Let’s examine each player’s injury and what a reasonable timeline would be for their return to the roster.

Royce Lewis, 3B

Injury: Moderate left hamstring strain
IL date: March 27 (10-day IL, retroactive to March 24)

Lewis injured his hamstring while running to first base during a spring training game, so he has yet to play in a game for the Twins this season.

This level of strain is expected to cost a player 6-8 weeks, and he’s on pace to return during that window (even though the Twins never supplied that return estimate).

On Friday, he played in his first rehab game and went 1-for-3 with a double while playing six innings at third base. After the game, Lewis told reporters he “felt really good”, even after some tough defensive plays. He went 2-for-3 on Sunday with two runs.

“The part with a player like Royce is he got hurt in spring training, so he didn’t even have his full complement of spring training games and the build-up through,” said Falvey. “He’s back into the progression of building into games, and you just don’t want to rush that.”

“You want to make sure that when he is back at the big-league level, you know he can go every night when he needs to,” he continued. “We will see him play throughout the course of this week, certainly. Once we get to the weekend, we make decisions as to what the next step is.”

Expected Return: Lewis will likely play multiple games with the Saints throughout the week, with the potential to join the Twins for some part of this weekend’s Boston series.

Willi Castro, UTIL

Injury: Right oblique strain
IL date: April 24 (10-day IL, retroactive to April 21)

Castro is doing everything except swinging all-out from the left side. When he was placed on the IL, the Twins limited his baseball activities for a few days before he started ramping up again.

Minnesota’s handling of Castro’s injury was strange because he sat on the active roster for more days than was necessary. Still, the Twins didn’t necessarily have anyone to help the roster in the minors. Minnesota has recently added multiple infield options, including Kody Clemens and Jonah Bride.

“Even when he was active, he was a day-to-day guy on the roster even dealing with this because he could hit right-handed,” said Falvey. “It was a little harder for him to hit left-handed. He could go play defense if we needed him to. We hope this is really close to a minimum time frame.”

Notably, though, Castro told reporters the plan was to shut him down from all activities for about a week once he went on the shelf, to let the injury calm down. In the wake of that, we might expect it to be another week or two before he’s ready to handle the big leagues again.

Expected Return: Castro will be eligible to return when the Twins return to Target Field for the Orioles series and should be back on the roster shortly thereafter. 

Matt Wallner, OF

Injury: Moderate left hamstring strain
IL date: April 17 (10-day IL, retroactive to April 16)

Like Lewis, the Twins have intentionally been vague with Wallner’s return timeline. However, the similarities between the injuries likely place his return timeline at the 6-8 week window. He has begun playing catch but has yet to begin other baseball activities. He must ramp up those activities, begin running the bases, and go on a rehab assignment.

“You need to make sure it heals in full. Because it’s moderate, we are looking more at that longer range timeline [6 weeks]. He’s on track, but we need to make sure he continues to heal before he starts moving into the progression of running.”

Expected Return: The end of May is likely the earliest he will go on a rehab assignment, pushing his return to the Twins in early June.

Both Lewis and Castro could be back with the Twins by Tuesday of next week. Wallner will likely be on a rehab assignment near the end of next month, and return to Minnesota in early June. Minnesota’s offense showed some life over the last week, but getting key players back can always boost the lineup—especially when another injury is just one pitch away.

What player can most help the Twins? Leave a comment and start the discussion.