When the Twins placed Royce Lewis on the injured list after he suffered a severe quadriceps strain on Opening Day, the thought was that the third baseman would be sidelined for a couple of months.
Just over two months later, at long last, his return is near.
Lewis appears poised to return on Tuesday when the Twins take on the Yankees in a road series that will begin at 6:05 p.m. CT in the Bronx, an exciting prospect both for Lewis and the Twins, who are more than ready to welcome back one of their most dynamic players.
To make room on the roster, it looks as if the Twins have optioned second baseman Edouard Julien to Triple-A St. Paul. While the club has not announced the move, it appears on the transition log on the Twins’ official website.
Lewis’ return comes after a rehab process he described as the most mentally challenging of his career, in part due to the uncertainty of his return timeline. Most recently, he played in a six-game rehab stint with the Triple-A Saints, going 4 for 23 in those games.
While Lewis was out, Jose Miranda saw most of the action for the Twins at third base, a position he was limited at last season because of a shoulder issue that also affected him at the plate.
Miranda, who went 2 for 4 with two RBIs in the Twins’ Sunday win at Houston, has hit .280 with a .780 OPS this season, exhibiting the same kind of productivity as he did in his rookie season in 2022. That helped him survive the roster crunch and left Julien as the odd man out.
After a highly-productive rookie season, Julien hasn’t exhibited the same success this season at the plate and said late last month that that had taken a mental toll. A trip to Triple-A should give him the opportunity to reset in a less pressure-filled environment.
“It’s been tough. Mentally you just start — not trusting your routine, trusting your approach, it’s just every day you don’t succeed as much as last year,” Julien said in May. “I expect myself to be better or the same as last year. Not doing as well, it’s a lot more pressure. You just have to be tough mentally and be stubborn. Trust that everything will work out.”
City Connect reveal plans
The Twins will hold a daylong celebration next Monday when they unveil their long-awaited City Connect uniforms. The City Connect jerseys, designed in collaboration with Nike, have been rolled out over the course of the past few seasons, and the Twins will be the last team to unveil their new look.
The day will begin at 6 a.m. with live art displays at Target Plaza. There will be photo opportunities both with current players and T.C. Bear, live music and a free lunch as long as supplies last. Fans also will have their first chance to buy City Connect merchandise.
The Twins will don the jerseys for the first time later in the week, wearing them for their June 14 and June 15 games against the Oakland Athletics.
Briefly
The Twins will send Bailey Ober to the mound against the Yankees on Tuesday night. He will face Luis Gil, who was just named the American League Pitcher and Rookie of the Month for May. The Yankees acquired Gil in a 2018 trade with the Twins for outfielder Jake Cave. … The Twins were swept by the Yankees when the two teams faced each other last month. After a leadoff home run in first inning of the first game, the Twins went 26 straight innings without scoring a run.
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