Royce Lewis has yet to suit up for the Minnesota Twins this season, sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained during Grapefruit League action. Despite his absence, Rocco Baldelli’s squad has surged, winning six of their last seven games while effectively managing a reshuffled infield.
Lewis is steadily clawing his way back to the majors. The dynamic infielder has already appeared in two Triple-A games with the St. Paul Saints, and is slated to serve as the designated hitter again on Tuesday. The Twins are eager to welcome him back to the big leagues soon.
Royce Lewis may rejoin Minnesota Twins in Boston
Conveniently, the St. Paul Saints are in Columbus playing the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians this week. The proximity makes travel plans for Royce Lewis a bit more manageable. The Star Tribune’s Phil Miller revealed the playing schedule for Royce Lewis this week.
“He will serve as designated hitter during the Saints’ doubleheader against the Clippers on Tuesday, then play all nine innings at third base Wednesday.”
The Twins are in Cleveland until Thursday with the four-game series concluding following a 12:10 pm CDT day game. That’s where it becomes decision making time, said head trainer Nick Paparesta.
“We’ll re-evaluate where he is on Thursday, how he’s feeling, and we’ll make a decision on what he’s going to do through the weekend. One thing we have to remember is … when you miss six weeks, there’s a certain number of at-bats you need to get. He’s going to need to play a little bit.”
Through two games with St. Paul, Lewis is 3-for-6 with a double. In spring training he batted .346/.469/.423 in 12 games. While it is understandable that Minnesota wants to make sure Lewis is ready, they did push his teammate to return not too long ago.
Brooks Lee exited Grapefruit League action due to a back injury on March 17, one day after Lewis suffered an injury. He missed roughly three weeks, and played in just four rehab games prior to joining the big league club. It will be interesting to see how much time the Twins give Lewis.
Of course no one wants to be back on the diamond more than Royce. He is arguably the most electric talent that the Minnesota Twins employ. And, he’s probably itching to make the .233/.295/.452 slash line he posted across 82 games last season look like a fluke.
Minnesota wants a healthy Lewis back on the field, and they want to see him remain there. There are still more than 130 games left to go, and Rocco Baldelli being able to pencil in his starting third baseman more often than not only helps the team continue to win.
Twins needed to teach Matt Wallner about his injury
Since being drafted in 2019, Matt Wallner has been basically a pillar of health. He doesn’t have a lengthy injury history, and the hamstring strain he just suffered was new to him. That didn’t wind up being a good thing when it came to treatment however, as Paparesta explained to the Star Tribune.
“He’s never had a leg injury before, didn’t know what was going on. He thought he had a cramp. Two days later, it looks black and blue and it’s a pretty significant tear.”
Wallner’s timeline now is measured in weeks, and it’s likely he’ll be down just as long as Lewis was. At this point he has only jogged on a treadmill, and the training staff will need to help coach him through the process, more than they did with Lewis.
Through 18 games Wallner owned a .263/.373/.474 slash line, and was the Twins leader in fWAR (0.6). He had fully embraced leadoff hitting duties and looked productive both at the plate and in the field.
In his absence, Minnesota has needed to rely heavily on the combination of Harrison Bader and Trevor Larnach in the outfield corners. Those two have largely played well, but it has exposed DaShawn Keirsey Jr. at the plate. The speedster is just 2-for-27 with an 8/0 K/BB, and looks only usable as a defensive substitute.
It’s possible that Emmanuel Rodriguez performs well enough for the Saints to promote him before Wallner returns. Unfortunately though, the top prospect is dealing with another thumb injury and is batting just .231/.359/.277 this season.
If there’s a name to watch when it comes to swapping out Keirsey Jr., Carson McCusker is it. The former independent ball talent has slashed .316/.388/.632 in 22 games for the Saints this season, and could provide a spark in the outfield.
Willi Castro on Minnesota’s horizon as well
The Twins waited eight days to place Willi Castro on the injured list despite him being unavailable due to an oblique injury. He’s now eligible to come off the list on Thursday, and Nick Paparesta told the Star Tribune he’s close.
“We did some testing on him today, which was good. He’s doing all baseball activities, including infield, throwing, outfield work, running. I probably need three or four more days before [we know if] he’s going to be ready on the day [he’s eligible to be] activated.”
It’s possible that Castro finds his way into the outfield mix as well, though he primarily played on the dirt before getting injured. He was batting just .227/.292/.364 before going down and, combined with his .219/.298/.329 slash line in 62 games after the All-Star Game last year, nothing should be a given for the utility man.
Minnesota needs Castro back on the roster, but they need him productive beyond just being healthy. He’ll have an opportunity to work towards that soon.
