Rocco Baldelli gives 'tough' Royce Lewis injury update

Ever since holding a player's only meeting last week, the Minnesota Twins have yet to lose a game. It's a small two-game sample size, but whatever adjustments the players made seem to be working.

Minnesota won its second game in a ro won Saturday, holding off the Baltimore Orioles in a tight 1-0 victory. While the game might have been won, the Twins lost something much more valuable when Royce Lewis was lost early in the contest.

Lewis left after the third inning with what the Twins initially announced as an oblique strain. He was replaced by Kyle Farmer and his absence didn't end up costing Minnesota in the short term but it's the long term impact that has everyone nervous.

While it's unclear how long Lewis will need to get healthy, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed that the team will be without their star rookie for at least a little while.

Twins get 'tough' Royce Lewis injury update

After the game, Baldelli spoke to the media and revealed that Lewis would be immediately heading to the injured list.

"The early update on Royce is that he has an oblique strain and he's going to go on the IL," Baldelli said after the game. "There's no real conversation about him not going on the IL, and it's tough news. He's worked hard to get back and he's playing well right now. But he's going to have to get healthy."

Lewis returned to the Twins last month for the first time since tearing his ACL back in 2022. That was the second ACL tear of his career and derailed the ascension we're witnessing now. That's what makes losing Lewis again so tough; even though the injury is far less severe it's hard to see him suffer a setback in the middle of playing such tremendous ball.

No corresponding move was announced, but it's not hard to read the tea leaves. Jose Miranda was scratched for St. Paul's game on Saturday, which seems to indicate that he'll get called up to re-join the Twins and replace Lewis while he gets healthy.

That's the expectation, but it's worth noting that nothing official has been announced yet.