Twins' Royce Lewis 'getting closer' but still has 'some hurdles to clear'

It appears Lewis is itching to return to the field.

Oct 11, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (23) rounds the / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Twins third baseman Royce Lewis has been forced to be patient quite a bit in his young career. 

Lewis suffered two torn ACLs right at the beginning of his career, and he's unfortunately been bitten by the injury bug a couple more times over the past two seasons. That includes this year as he suffered a quad strain in the Twins' season opener at Kansas City that's sidelined him ever since.

But Lewis is a competitor who wants to get back on the field, and sometimes he wants to get back out there sooner than he should. It appears Lewis feels good and is itching to return, but while he's "getting closer," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said "we're not there yet" when it comes to the point of discussing higher-end baseball skill work and a rehab assignment.

"We still have a little bit of time; we have to get through some things. We still have some hurdles to clear," Baldelli said. "But he's getting there, and we're talking about the same guy that had the knee surgeries and told us halfway through his rehab that he was ready to go."

The Twins are waiting until Lewis is truly ready to go, when he's completely healthy. It's certainly not unusual for players to get antsy as they spend time on the injured list, and Lewis is a competitor. It's the nature of highly competitive people to return to action as soon as possible. But Lewis is "where he needs to be right now" and there's still work to be done before he's completely healthy, Baldelli said.

When the time comes that Lewis is completely healthy, the Twins will bring him back into the fold. Baldelli is certainly looking forward to penciling him back into the lineup. And Lewis is "almost there," Baldelli said, but he will have to be patient for at least a little while longer, as difficult as that may be.

“Doing nothing is a lot more difficult than doing something,” Baldelli said. “I know the feeling, it’s not a good feeling, but when he’s able to play, believe me, I’ll be the first one with a big smile on my face and writing his name in the lineup card and we’ll send him on out there. But he’s getting there, he’s getting close, closer.” 

Briefly

• Twins reliever Daniel Duarte underwent successful UCL revision reconstruction surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday in Dallas. The timeline for recovery is 14-16 months.