The Minnesota Twins get a boost in their lineup as third baseman Royce Lewis came back from a right adductor strain that put him on the 10-day injured list (IL) for three and and a half weeks. Last playing on July 2, Lewis returned in an exciting way as the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers Friday, 9-2, as he talks about trying to maintain his health throughout the season.
It would not be the first time that Lewis has an injury spell like recently as in the past three years, there could be people that have put the “injury prone” tag on him. Lewis would talk about the several actions he takes to better his body in staying healthy like changing his diet, extra massages, and more according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com.
“I've changed my diet around multiple different times,” Lewis said. “I pay money to keep my body intact: I do the extra massages. I do all the stuff off the field that takes time away from my family and friends. There's not much else I can really do at this point other than keep fighting through it. I'm not made of glass.”
It was also revealed that in conversations with the training staff, an injury like he just had might have been expected since Lewis labors two ACL issues that he has had in the past with his right leg. Still, he is on the path to recovery and being 100 percent as he mentioned also how important it is to report every minor discomfort or inconvenience per Park.
A valid plan to keep Lewis healthy with the Twins
There is no doubt that there should be a plan moving forward for Lewis in keeping up his health which even Twins manager Rocco Baldelli talked about. He would mention that to limit the wear and tear that Lewis can have, there could be some days where he is the designated hitter instead of also playing out in third base since there is depth at the position.
“With anyone that deals with muscle injuries, muscle fatigue is at least part of the conversation,” Baldelli said via MLB.com. “Everyone’s body handles things differently. So being able to limit some of that workload — we want him to stay strong, we want him to be able to post every day. And the best way to do that is at DH.”
While it's easy to understand that Lewis wants to contribute as much as possible, at the end of the day, he is just happy to “have fun being around the ballpark each and every day.”
“I always try to have fun with life, because life can be hard sometimes,” Lewis said. “Obviously, I've been through the worst of it. I just enjoy being around the ballpark. That's all I try to do: Have fun being around the ballpark each and every day that I'm able to be around it. And that's what I'm going to do again today.”
Lewis always returns with a bang for Twins
Looking at his past injuries, there has been a one interesting constant, it's that in the first game Lewis returns in after a lengthy absence, he usually shows up big in the box score. In six recent instances spanning from last season, it would not be out of the ordinary to see Lewis hit a home run in his first game back, as in the two contests where he returned from an issue this year, he would do just that.
This time around though, it would be just a single which could be unfair to expect a home run as Lewis said after the game that the field where the Tigers play is “deep.”
“[Comerica Park is] a deep ballpark,” Lewis said. “Wrong place for me to play a first game and try to hit a homer.”
The Twins are currently 57-45 on the season which puts them second in the AL Central as they prepare for the second outing in the three-game series against the Tigers Saturday evening.
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