Twins bring back Royce Lewis after severe quad strain in season opener cost him 58 games

NEW YORK (AP) — The Minnesota Twins reinstated third baseman Royce Lewis from the injured list on Tuesday after a 58-game absence caused by a severely strained right quadriceps muscle.

Lewis played in six games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul, going 4 for 23 with a double, a walk and eight strikeouts.

Lewis will enter the three-game series in New York against the Yankees with a perfect 1.000 batting average, having homered and singled in his first two at-bats of the season before getting hurt running the bases on March 28 at Kansas City.

The first overall pick in the 2017 draft has been limited to 71 games with the Twins. He tore the ACL in his right knee while working out before the 2021 season and suffered the same injury in 2022 just 12 games into his major league career on a collision with the outfield wall while tracking a fly ball.

Last season, Lewis hit .309 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in just 58 games including five grand slams. He hit four homers in six postseason games for the AL Central champion Twins in 2023.

The Twins sent second baseman Edouard Julien to Triple-A St. Paul to make room on the 26-man roster for Lewis, who will turn 25 on Wednesday.

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