Minnesota Twins fans have been holding their breath since Opening Day waiting to hear how bad the Royce Lewis injury news will be.
That's the state of things just a single game into the season, and seems to be confirmation that constantly worrying about the health of a star player is simply the lot in life for Twins fans. Before the season even started the Twins had placed five pitchers on the IL, including star closer Jhoan Duran with starter Anthony DeSclafani feared to have already been lost for the year.
Lewis needing to leave Opening Day after just two at-bats, on top of all the other injury anxiety, was exactly the opposite of what anyone needed.
Worse was that it tooks two days before we heard any sort of update on his status. Lewis underwent an MRI on Thursday to assess the damage to his quad and it wasn't until Saturday that we heard just how bad things were.
Twins give an official Royce Lewis injury update, and it's not great
On Saturday the Twins revealed that Lewis had suffered a 'severe quad strain' and would be out for at least a month, if not more. No official timetable was given for when he'd be back but Derek Falvey noted that things will be evaluated again in a month to see where Lewis is at in his recovery.
Royce Lewis suffered a severe quad strain, Derek Falvey said. He will be resting and recovering over the next month and then they will assess where he’s at.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) March 30, 2024
This would mean that Lewis won't be back until at least May, if not longer. Based on the initial phrasing of the diagnosis, we should probably read into the severity of the injury and assume that Lewis probably won't return to the lineup until early-June. Perhaps more likely, Lewis is going to be out until at least the All-Star Break since we don't know exactly when he will be able to work his way back.
It’s a “severe quad strain” for Royce Lewis, according to Derek Falvey. He’s going to need a month of pure recovery before the Twins even have a better sense of how much more recovery he’ll need at that point before starting his buildup back into playing.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) March 30, 2024
Not only does this lineup with the timeline of how long it takes to recover from a quad injury, but it also makes sense in being cautious with Lewis. He has a very checkered injury history, from the two ACL tears he suffered to needing to miss time last season with two separate ailments.
This quad injury seems to be along the lines of the hamstring injury that sidelined him late last season, albeit much more serious. Lewis was able to come back in time for the postseason but it was clear he wasn't at 100 percent and the circumstances of returning then versus now are obviously different.
Minnesota called up Austin Martin to take Lewis' spot on the roster, although he won't be a one-to-one replacement at third. In fact, Martin isn't going to be playing third base at all and will be platooning as depth at second base and in the outfield while Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro take over for Lewis.
It's a nightmare scenario for the Twins, who have lost one of their best players -- and an MVP candidate -- less than a full game into the season. The team refused to make any meaningful roster moves over the winter, cowering in the face of potential lost revenue over the Diamond Sports drama, and the argument for internal depth is going to be put to the test right away.