Royce Lewis returns from IL after Twins DFA’d Jonah Bride
As expected, third baseman Royce Lewis, who has been sidelined since he suffered a left hamstring strain on June 14 in Houston, has officially returned from the injured list, the Minnesota Twins announced. Lewis takes an open spot on the 26-man roster created after the Twins DFA’d infielder Jonah Bride following Minnesota’s 3-0 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday night.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/o2HR2XcLGA
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 1, 2025
Lewis went 0-for-8 with one walk across three rehab games with the St. Paul Saints last weekend. Although it was a small sample size, it would have been nice to see Lewis collect at least one hit, considering his struggles this season. Lewis, who missed the first 35 games of the season due to a separate left hamstring strain, holds a .202/.282/.303 slash line with two homers and nine RBIs in 110 plate appearances this season. However, he slashed .429/.500/.619 over his last 21 at-bats before suffering his hamstring strain in Houston.
Bride’s DFA came after prolonged struggles following joining the Twins via a trade with the Miami Marlins back in April. The Twins were hoping Bride, who was DFA’d by the Marlins before being traded to Minnesota, would return to the version of himself that posted an .818 OPS in 2024. However, Bride posted a .208/.275/.236 batting line with just two extra-base hits and three RBIs in 80 plate appearances with Minnesota.
The Twins are not in a good spot in the standings. Although the season is far from over, it’s hard to imagine anyone will catch the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central, as the Tigers hold an 11 ½ game lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians and a 12 ½ game lead over the third-place Twins. If the Twins make the postseason, it will most likely have to be as a Wild Card team, but that also seems unlikely. Minnesota trails the Seattle Mariners by four games for the third American League Wild Card spot, with four teams in between the Twins and Mariners. Hopefully, Lewis is the spark that saves the Twins' season.
Twins set to play three-game series with Miami Marlins
The Twins are off on Monday before beginning a three-game set against the Marlins at 5:40 p.m. CT on Tuesday at LoanDepot Park in Miami. The scheduled starting pitchers for Game 1 of the series are Joe Ryan for Minnesota and Edward Cabrera for Miami.