WASHINGTON One of the most crucial components of the Twins offense is almost back.
Royce Lewis ran the bases on Monday for the first time since Opening Day when he injured his quadriceps. He’ll keep running throughout the week, and when the Twins get back home, they’ll know a lot more about when he should be back.
Head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta stated, “Friday will be a big tell for us, because we’re going to do a lot of stuff with him where we’re going to try to put him in as (many) game-scenario situations as we can.”
In addition to playing baseball, Lewis has been taking ground balls and hitting in the cage and on the field. Last week, according to Paparesta, the third baseman performed admirably at both changing directions and increasing his speed.
Paparesta stated that everything should go smoothly this week because they are “heading in the right direction of a rehab assignment.”
Lewis, who has called this rehab the most mentally taxing experience of his career, has found it to be frustrating. He has stated that it has been more difficult than even the much longer rehabilitation procedures he underwent following surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, largely due to the unpredictability of the return schedule and how well he has been feeling recently.
“We have to go by the science a little bit on that and explain that to him, but a lot of it is just spending time with him and listening to him and letting him be who he is, which is always very positive, always very good,” Paparesta said. “In the end, you just end up in a relationship where Royce tells us he’s good every day, and we’re happy to hear that, which is good, but he knows we need things, so I think it’s just a good give and take.”
Stewart moving forward
Brock the reliever Stewart hasn’t started throwing a baseball yet, but he’s making progress toward his comeback despite missing time due to tendinitis in his right shoulder.
Before proceeding to the next phase of Stewart’s rehabilitation, Paparesta stated that he has thrown with plyometric balls and anticipated that he would do so for a few more days.
“That’s essentially him imitating his throwing motion and understanding his mechanics,” Paparesta remarked. “At this point, he is moving in the right direction.”
Twins alter their starting lineup.
For the first time since mid-April, Manuel Margot’s name was penciled in at the top of the Twins’ lineup on Tuesday. Manager Rocco Baldelli gave two reasons for the move, which was made against left-hander Patrick Corbin.
First, Baldelli mentioned Margot’s recent at-bat quality, saying the outfielder appeared to be “finding some timing and doing a good job.”
The other was to drop Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers, who were batting second and third on Tuesday, to a position where they could drive in runs.
In one form or another, “those guys have been at the top with lefties for a while now,” Baldelli remarked. “Their at-bats have been strong. They did excellent work.
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