Twins infielders Royce Lewis and Willi Castro are expected to be activated from the injured list as early as Tuesday
Twins infielder Royce Lewis took a break during batting practice Feb. 14 in Fort Myers, Fla. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)Royce Lewis and Willi Castro are expected to be activated from the injured list as early as Tuesday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. The Twins didn’t announce any roster moves Sunday, but Lewis is primed to make his season debut after he played six games on a rehab assignment.
Lewis, who suffered a moderate hamstring strain in his left leg during spring training, totaled four hits in 23 at-bats with the Class AAA Saints with one double, one RBI and six strikeouts. He started his last three games at third base.
The Twins, who have the fourth-fewest homers (28) in the American League, are hoping Lewis can provide an immediate spark. In the past two seasons, he has had five stints on the IL and he homered in the first game he returned three times.
The 25-year-old Lewis batted .233 with 16 homers, 16 doubles and 47 RBI in 82 games last season, which included a prolonged slump throughout September.
Castro, an All-Star last year, hasn’t played since April 16 because of an oblique strain. Before his IL stint, he was batting .227 with six doubles, one homer and five RBI in 18 games.
“Hopefully getting some players back this week will be a huge lift for us because we could really benefit from having a few guys that have had real impact here at the big league level coming back to this team,” Twins President Derek Falvey said Saturday.
Baldelli backs Alcala
Twins reliever Jorge Alcala has been inconsistent all season, and he had one of his roughest outings Friday when he gave up five hits, matching a career high, and three runs in an inning against the Boston Red Sox. Entering with a two-run deficit, he let his first two baserunners essentially steal bases uncontested.
Alcala owns a 9.49 ERA through 12⅓ innings, yielding 17 hits, 13 runs and eight walks.
“It’s been a tough go of it,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “His stuff is where it should be. He’s still throwing hard. He’s still got a good slider to work with. I think he’s still settling in and getting comfortable a little bit with his role. He’s been pitching in down games. He’s been pitching multiple innings at times. It’s not something he has done a ton of, but I think all the ingredients are still there.”
Alcala’s fastball velocity is down about 1 mph from last year — he’s still averaging 97 mph — but hitters are doing a lot of damage on his slider, which was his best strikeout pitch a year ago.
Strike-throwing has been an issue with a walk in seven of his 12 appearances. Four of his eight walks this season have been against the first batter he faced.
“We know he has to do a better job against the run game and focus on the details and be prepared for what’s obviously coming his way when you face a team that has a lot of good runners and you steal bases,” Baldelli said. “Like I said, he’s got everything he needs. He should be able to go out there and work through this. … I still believe in him.”
