The season wasted absolutely no time before it got dark for the Minnesota Twins. Three innings into Opening Day the team lost Royce Lewis to a quad injury and things have fire hosed all over the place ever since.
Minnesota has put together one 12-game winning streak and two separate losing streaks of five or more games since losing Lewis, and it's unclear when the team will find some consistency. The easy answer seems to be whenever the Twins get Lewis back, which is still a timeline that seems murkier than anyone would like.
Initial fears were that Lewis would be lost until the All-Star Break, if not longer, but each new update on him has been tinged with good news.
Lewis was all smiles when he addressed the media after it was announced he'd miss at least a month, and now it seems he's getting closer to taking a major step toward returning to the Twins lineup.
When will Royce Lewis return to Minnesota Twins lineup?
A month ago it was reported that Lewis was beginning to resume baseball activities, which was the first bit of good news. On Tuesday it was revealed that Lewis had officially started running and was inching toward a rehab assignment.
Star Tribune beat writer Bobby Nightengale noted that Friday will be the day we officially know more about how far along Lewis is, but all signs are pointing in the right direction.
Royce Lewis started running the bases yesterday in Minneapolis. Head trainer Nick Paparesta says Friday will be a big day for him as Lewis moves closer to beginning a rehab assignment.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) May 21, 2024
Lewis won't immediately jump into a rehab assignment in St. Paul if things go well on Friday, but it would likely put him on a timeline to return well before mid-July. Getting Lewis back and healthy can't happen soon enough for a Twins team that has sorely missed him in the lineup since losing him on Opening Day.
It's almost a case of time being a flat circle. Last year the Twins offense was in a dark place when Lewis joined the lineup and injected some much-needed life into things. That could happen again, as Minnesota's offense is once again struggling and Lewis returning would be exactly what the team needs to potentially spark a turnaround.
We're still a ways off from that happening, but everything seems to be trending in the right direction. Lewis can't help the Twins on the field yet, but hearing a positive update like this is the type of good news fans desperately need right now.