Royce Lewis calls quad strain 'most challenging rehab I've ever had'

Lewis is progressing from his Opening Day injury but has no timetable for his return.

Sep 5, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis (23) rounds third base / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis gave reporters an update on his recovery from a quad strain on Friday night and while he is progressing, he still doesn't have a timetable for his return.

"I've just got to keep continuing to wait," Lewis said via Dan Hayes of The Athletic. "The hardest thing is not having a timeline. ... When you have no idea and you feel so good, it's the most challenging rehab I've ever had."

Calling the recovery from a quad strain suffered in the season opener against the Kansas City Royals the most challenging of his life is notable as Lewis has already had two grueling rehab processes in his career.

Lewis missed the entire 2022 season after tearing his ACL that February and went back on the shelf after re-injuring the same ligament 15 months later. The second injury included an additional procedure designed to strengthen his knee and Lewis missed an entire year before returning to the Twins lineup in May 2023.

Lewis has since become a staple in the Twins lineup when healthy, hitting .309/.372/.548 with 15 homers, 52 RBI and six stolen bases in 58 games last season and going 2-for-2 including a home run in his first at-bat of the season before leaving the game against the Royals on March 28.

The 24-year-old was not given an official timetable after suffering the injury but was to be evaluated after a month. Lewis's recovery has gone well as his baseball activities increased "ten-fold" during the Twins' recent seven-game road trip and Lewis took 80 swings in the cage, jogged on the warning track and took 15-20 groundballs at third base prior to Friday's game against the Boston Red Sox.

"Royce is tracking in a pretty good direction," Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "The MRI revealed he's kind of at the return you'd expect him to be at this stage. No faster, no slower. Nothing has really changed. A moderate enough quad strain was going to take some time here."

The Twins got off to a rough start without Lewis, going 7-13 in their first 20 games but have rebounded with an 11-game winning streak – their longest streak since 2006. 

Entering Saturday at 18-13 and 1.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians, getting Lewis back would be a huge boost for the Twins offense and help them make a push to win their second straight division title.

"I am waiting for the call," Lewis said. "This is more anticipation than my debut call. I'm waiting for the call to just go back out there and play."