Minnesota Twins fans wasted no time going through a wild swing of emotions on Opening Day.
Royce Lewis hit a home run in his very first at bat of the season, picking up right where he left off last postseason when he capped off his brilliant rookie season in style. From a record amount of grand slams to hitting home runs in back-to-back at bats in the AL Wild Card, Lewis emerged as a superstar on the rise who is already getting dark horse MVP hype.
Royce Lewis with the first Twins HR this year... because of course 😂 pic.twitter.com/QH5ihNkPNk
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 28, 2024
Things came crashing down two innings later when Lewis needed to exit the game after coming up limping while rounding second on a Carlos Correa RBI double. He was taken out after a quick evaluation but it seems to be more than just a precaution — which is what we were all hoping for in the moment.
Not long after leaving the game, the Twins announced that Lewis had a right quad injury that would be evaluated later. That’s what manager Rocco Baldelli touched on after the game but his update wasn’t exactly promising.
Royce Lewis gives update on his quad injury after Twins Opening Day win
After the game, Rocco Baldelli spoke with the media and gave a less than ideal update on Lewis’ health.
“He had an MRI, we’re going to take some time and evaluate it and see how he’s doing. Obviously very difficult situation seeing him come off the field like that,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to assess him and will probably have an update in a day or two.”
The fact that we won’t hear anything until potentially Saturday isn’t exactly great, although it lines up with when the Twins would have to make a lineup decision about Lewis. Everything seems to be pointing toward him getting shut down for at least the rest of the series in Kansas City if not until the home opener next week.
A potentially positive sign was that Lewis also spoke with the media, which typically isn’t the case after a bad injury. This doesn’t mean the Twins are out of the woods, but it’s reason for fans to be hopeful.
“"Honestly, the first thing that was in my mind was like, ‘Dang, should be 3-1.’,” Lewis said after the game when asked about what he thought in the moment he suffered the injury.
The always positive Royce Lewis was upbeat again even though he’s waiting to hear the results of an MRI on his right quad.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) March 28, 2024
He described it as a cramp. No word yet on severity of the injury. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/SNUUM3oGyB
It all depends on the results of the MRI. Lewis could be back in about a week if it’s ruled a Grade 1 muscle strain but he’ll be out much longer if it’s a Grade 2 strain. In that scenario he’d likely hit the IL and the Twins would have to call up someone like Jose Miranda or Yunior Sevrino to fill in as depth while Kyle Farmer assumed everyday duties.
That’s a worst case scenario, but given Lewis’ injury history it’s not as bad as it could have been. Still, despite how grim the day was, it’s worth noting that Lewis was still bubbly and smiling after watching his team win on what was his first ever Opening Day start.
Royce Lewis' constant positivity remains, even with the continued setbacks.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) March 28, 2024
He said he's just glad it's not the knee and is looking ahead to hearing how long he'll be out and what his process coming back will be like. pic.twitter.com/0eAGaPRsTm
Hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come and Lewis is back in the lineup before too long.