For the first time in almost 60 days, Minnesota Twins fans got a glimpse of Royce Lewis playing baseball. It sounds like coaches and executives weren't exactly thrilled with what they saw, even though things seemed to go realteively well.
Lewis is in St. Paul on a rehab assignment, which is his first dose of action since leaving three innings into the team's Opening Day win over Kansas City. It was beyond a tease to watch Lewis hit a home run in his first at-bat, reach base the next time he was up, and then strain his right quad.
He entered the season as a dark horse MVP candidate, something he backed up right out of the gate, and the loss of Lewis has been felt every game since his injury. Minnesota limped out to a 7-13 start before finally stablizing but things are still far from being where everyone expected them to be.
Word that Lewis was working his way back to the point of getting a rehab assignment was welcomed good news but his first few games at St. Paul have caused some concern among those inside the Twins organization.
Twins were 'horrified' over Royce Lewis stealing bases in first game of rehab assignment
Everything seems to be going well in the small sample size we've seen of Lewis, but he already seems to be trying to do too much too soon.
Twins beat writer LaVelle E. Neal passed along word that the team wasn't too pleased with Lewis deciding to steal bases in his first games back, something that seems to be a case of him going rogue.
The Twins were horrified when Royce Lewis stole second base in his first rehab game. He does not have a green light to steal, rather a bright red one. He has been reminded to ease into things and NOT steal bases. They don't even want him to run 100 percent for now.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) May 26, 2024
The eagerness is very much appreciated, and hardly a surprise, but it's also understandably cause for alarm to those keeping a close eye on Lewis' recovery. He mentioned a month ago that the team was purposefully withholding information from him so that he didn't use it to try and rush back, and this little base stealing stunt validates that approach.
Minnesota needs Lewis back, and the lineup will profoundly improve upon his return. What nobody can afford is a setback, or for Lewis to return only to hit the IL again. It's worth remembering that while this is a source of frustration for the team, everything so far with Lewis seems to be trending hard in the right direction.
OK #MNTwins fans we're going to show you three successive videos that will showcase Royce Lewis. Try to stay calm. First AB, singles up the middle at 105 mph pic.twitter.com/jPErqtLUX4
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) May 25, 2024
Thankfully nothing happened with Lewis going rogue and stealing some bases, and if anything it's admirable that he wants to get back so badly. He just needs to pump the brakes and make sure that when he returns to the Twins' lineup he's there for the long haul.