Lewis could be on his way back.
The Minnesota Twins got the news they had been waiting for on Saturday.
Royce Lewis has officially started a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul, and he is slotted as the designated hitter batting second for the Saints.
It is the first real step toward getting one of their most important players back on the field after yet another trip to the injured list.
Lewis landed on the 10-day IL on April 11 with a left knee sprain, his ninth trip to the injured list over the past four seasons.
The injury happened in the eighth inning of a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, when Lewis caught his cleat on a swing and felt a pop in his knee.
He gutted out the at-bat and legged out a clutch infield single, but the pain caught up with him the next day. An MRI confirmed the sprain.
What Lewis Was Doing Before the Injury
Before going down, Lewis was starting to find a rhythm.
He was hitting .222 with two home runs and eight RBIs through 12 games, and his OPS had climbed to .822 with an OPS+ of 141.
During the team's four-game sweep of Detroit earlier that week, he was batting .333 with three RBIs, four walks and just two strikeouts.
It was the type of stretch that reminded everyone why the Twins view him as a cornerstone of this roster.
The challenge for Lewis has never been about talent.
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft has shown flashes of being one of the best young players in the American League when healthy, but staying on the field has been a constant struggle.
Between two ACL tears, a quad strain, multiple hamstring issues and now this knee sprain, Lewis has played just 262 games since reaching the majors in 2022.
Why Minnesota Needs Him Back
The Twins sit at 11-9 heading into Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds and hold first place in the AL Central, a position few expected them to occupy this early.
They have won eight of their last 12 games after a rough 3-6 start, and the lineup has been one of the biggest reasons for the turnaround.
Minnesota ranks sixth in MLB in runs scored with 103 on the season.
But filling Lewis' spot at third base has not been easy.
Tristan Gray and Ryan Kreidler have handled most of the reps, and while Gray has been solid with a .263 batting average, neither player carries the same upside Lewis brings when he is right.
Getting him back would give Derek Shelton's lineup a jolt of power and energy at a time when the division race is starting to take shape.
There is no official timeline for when Lewis will return to the big league roster, but the Twins are hopeful the rehab will be brief. If all goes well in St. Paul over the next few days, Lewis could rejoin the team before the end of next week.