Twins’ Lewis will begin rehab assignment this week
CLEVELAND – Royce Lewis' recovery from a torn right knee ligament will reach a major milestone this week.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, who suffered the injury last May 29 and underwent surgery a few days later, is ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment, the Twins announced Sunday. Lewis, who has been working out at the Twins' spring headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla., will report to Class AA Wichita sometime this week, probably Thursday.
Coincidentally, the Wind Surge will be in Frisco, Texas, a short drive from Lewis' offseason home.
Lewis, whose injury occurred three innings into his first major league appearance as a center fielder, will play third base and shortstop during his rehab, which will also likely include several games with Class AAA St. Paul.
The assignment is an indication that Lewis — who also missed the entire 2021 season because of a similar tear in his knee — is ahead of schedule in his recovery. The Twins cautioned during spring training that the 23-year-old would probably not be ready to play again until midseason. In fact, he was placed on the 60-day injured list during training camp, a designation that would prevent his return to the major leagues until late May.
Lewis batted .300 with a .975 OPS during his 12 games with the Twins last April and May.
Caught looking
Alex Kirilloff fouled a pitch down the right-field line for strike two during his fourth-inning at-bat. He took a few steps up the baseline before watching it hook foul, and turned around to continue his at-bat.
He never got the chance. As Kirilloff dug in, umpire Scott Berry called a pitch-clock violation because the hitter wasn't ready with eight seconds remaining on the clock, and ruled it an automatic strike three.
"The pitch clock was not friendly to us in this series, obviously," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, referring to righthander Sonny Gray's automatic ball that contributed to a bases-loaded walk Saturday. "I spoke to the umpires about it. It seemed like it was [starting] fast, so they said they would keep an eye on it."
Kirilloff agreed with his manager that the clock seemed to start earlier than it should have.
"I should have been more aware and looked up," Kirilloff said. "Something has to get figured out with long foul balls if the [batter] runs out of the box. I thought about calling timeout, but I felt comfortable, like I was ready to go, and just didn't look up in time."
Etc.
• Kyle Farmer will undergo oral surgery Monday to have the wires that have held his front teeth in place since his April 12 beaning removed. If his soreness is manageable, the infielder could be activated on Tuesday when the Twins open a series vs. San Diego at Target Field.
• Lefthander Caleb Thielbar has been diagnosed with a moderate strain of his right oblique, and will not do any throwing this week to allow the inflammation to subside. His condition will be evaluated next weekend.
• Righthander Ronny Henriquez, shut down in February after experiencing pain in his pitching elbow, is moving up to St. Paul this week to continue his rehab assignment. The 22-year-old, who appeared in three games for the Twins last season, faced six hitters for Class A Fort Myers on Wednesday, his 2023 debut.
• The Saints split a doubleheader with Nashville at CHS Field. In the first game, Michael Helman hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning off North St. Paul's Gus Varland, lifting the Saints to a 4-3 victory. Aaron Sanchez gave up six runs with two out in the first inning, including a grand slam by Patrick Dorrian, as the Saints lost the second game 7-1.
