The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman gave Twins fans good news on Saturday regarding injured third baseman Royce Lewis. According to Minnesota head trainer Nick Paparesta, Lewis has returned to baseball activities and is “headed in the right direction,” meaning a run progression will likely begin late next week.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old, who on Opening Day was reported to have suffered a “severe” quad injury, is thrilled to hear this. The first overall pick of the 2017 draft, who has been viewed as one of baseball’s most exciting young talents for a long time, has hit.313/.369/.564 since making his major league debut in 2022. This results in an incredible wRC+ of 159, although Lewis’s career has only seen 71 games in the major leagues due to a variety of injuries, including ruptured ACLs in 2021 and 2022.
Given his extensive history of injuries, it’s tempting to be negative about Lewis’s health, but the news that he’s already back to playing baseball is encouraging because it was originally anticipated that he would be sidelined for a full month before undergoing another evaluation. That would appear to place him more than a week ahead of schedule, so the young player might realistically aim for a return as early as somewhere in the middle of the next month.
But Lewis isn’t the only important Twins player who might be getting ready to make a comeback soon. Additionally, Jhoan Duran, the closer, began his recovery from an oblique issue on Friday by pitching 21 pitches against live batters, according to Gleeman. After the workout, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters, including Gleeman, that Duran appeared to be “just about ready” to face batters in actual games. Despite early worries that he might be out until next month, Gleeman continued by saying that Duran is anticipated to be cleared for a rehab assignment soon and that the right-handed flamethrower could rejoin the major league team before the end of April.
If Duran can quickly return to the major league team, it will be a huge help to the Twins bullpen, which has performed admirably without him. Even though he hasn’t pitched before this season, Duran has established himself as one of the game’s best relievers since making his debut in 2022. In 130 innings pitched over the previous two seasons, he has a 2.15 ERA (191 ERA+) and a 2.85 FIP. Last year, he took over as the team’s closer and did a fantastic job, making 27 saves out of 32 opportunities. Duran has been placed on the bench, while Griffin Jax has emerged as the team’s best option in the ninth inning.
If Duran can quickly return to the major league team, it will be a huge help to the Twins bullpen, which has performed admirably without him. Even though he hasn’t pitched before this season, Duran has established himself as one of the game’s best relievers since making his debut in 2022. In 130 innings pitched over the previous two seasons, he has a 2.15 ERA (191 ERA+) and a 2.85 FIP. Last year, he took over as the team’s closer and did a fantastic job, making 27 saves out of 32 opportunities. Duran has been placed on the bench, while Griffin Jax has emerged as the team’s best option in the ninth inning.
Gleeman continues by speculating that although Duran might make a comeback before the month is out, outfielder Max Kepler probably will. After fouling a ball off his knee on Opening Day, Kepler was placed on the injured list earlier this month due to a right knee contusion. However, it appears that Kepler is getting closer to making a comeback, as Baldelli and Gleeman both mentioned that he might be back in the starting lineup for Minnesota as soon as Sunday.
Prior to his injury, Kepler struggled mightily, starting the season 1-for-20 with a walk. However, he was a vital member of the team’s lineup the previous season, slashing a strong.260/.332/.484 while playing outstanding right field defense. With Byron Buxton firmly established in center field, the Twins have been depending on a combination of Trevor Larnach, Manuel Margot, and Austin Martin to cover the outfield corners in Kepler’s absence.