The Minnesota Twins are playing some of the best baseball of their 2024 season, right now. Stellar play that has pushed their record all the way to 48-37 . Much of that success can be dated back to early June, and the return of 25-year-old blossoming superstar, Royce Lewis.
But after he suffered a groin injury on Tuesday night, it appears Lewis is in danger of hitting the injured list yet again. This time, it doesn’t appear a to be a long-term thing, but that didn’t make him feel any better in the locker room, after the Twins’ 5-3 win over the Tigers.
“This is out of my control. So what I can control, I’m very happy about, but this is out of my control. I have no idea. But probably not very optimistic, to be honest with you. I’m praying, but it’s usually always horrible news. So we’ll see.”
Royce Lewis after suffering groin injury on Tuesday night
Royce Lewis tired of being babied by Minnesota Twins
At first listen, it sounds like Lewis is down on his injury luck. But that is not the case. Instead, according to Dan Hayes (The Athletic) Royce is expressing frustration and concern over Twins doctors, coaches and higher-up decision makers “babying him again”.
Hayes writes that Lewis is of the belief that his new groin strain is a minor one, and that he doesn’t need an MRI to tell him whether or not he needs a trip to the injured list. He fears, however, that the Twins are going to send him to the IL anyway.
With his history of long-term injuries and worries about the team perhaps babying him again, Lewis’s main concern is the Twins would once again err on the side of caution and put him back on the IL at a time when he wants to stay in the lineup.
Dan Hayes – The Athletic
Royce Lewis returned to the MN Twins lineup on June 4. Since then, the MN Twins are 14-11 and the offense has done most of the heavy lifting. In those 25 games, the Twins hold a collective .289 batting average and .831 OPS. They’ve clobbered 35 homers and scored 5.8 runs per game, too.
This is only the latest in a run of Royce Lewis complaints
Hayes didn’t stop there, regarding Lewis’ frustrations. You may have noticed the “again” part of the above report. Dan goes on to write that Royce is still frustrated over how the Minnesota Twins handled his last injury. Apparently, Lewis believes he could have returned from the IL weeks before he actually did.
Only two months ago, Lewis was upset with the way the Twins handled the end of his rehab assignment. In early May, Lewis thought the Twins acted overly cautious and cost him several weeks of games when he felt ready to return to action.
Dan Hayes – The Athletic
Those in the Twins organization will try to sweep this under the rug. But Royce Lewis being this frustrated with how they handle his playing time and injury prevention/recovery is a major concern.
Related: Royce Lewis Wants in on the Home Run Derby
Remember, this comes just days after Lewis expressed interest in being a Home Run Derby participant during All-Star weekend later this month, before adding that the Twins probably wouldn’t let him. This is the best player in your organization. Why are they intent on pissing him off?
Lewis’ return from the IL on June 4 was much much earlier than some insider reports indicated at the time, too. LaVelle E. Neal (Star Tribune) was insistent back then, that Royce’s return earlier this season wouldn’t happen until early-to-mid July, possibly even post All-Star break.
Related: Minnesota Twins Top 15 Prospect Selected for AL All-Star Team
Obviously, there are multiple disconnects when it comes to injuries in the Twins organization, and how they are handling rehabilitation time. Falvey, Baldelli & Co need to figure out why and address it ASAP. You can’t have your young superstar bad mouthing the organization openly to media like this. If he wants to play, let the kid play.
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