Royce Lewis was spotted roaming the Twins’ clubhouse on Thursday afternoon at Target Field.

He dapped up some of his teammates after the Twins put the finishing touches on a 11-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. He then said his goodbyes as they hit the road for a short series in Canada against the Toronto Blue Jays, while he stayed behind to continue rehab on a quadriceps strain he suffered on Opening Day.

Though it looks like Lewis is getting closer to returning from the injured list, manager Rocco Baldelli made it clear the Twins will not rush the process.

“He’s where he needs to be right now,” Baldelli said. “He’s still got some work to do, to get completely healthy. He’s not coming back until he’s completely healthy. He’s getting close.”

There is still no firm timetable on when Lewis will resume baseball activities, nor is there clarity on how long of a rehab assignment he’ll need once he’s ready.

“We’re not there yet,” Baldelli said. “We still have a little bit of time. We have to get through some things. We have some hurdles to still clear.”

This has been another lesson in patience for Lewis, who, notably, has torn the ACL in his right knee twice in his career. Maybe the hardest part for Lewis is how competitive he is. He likely feels like he’s ready to push it more than he’s being allowed to right now.

Not that the Twins are going to budge on their plan of attack.

“When he’s able to play, believe me, I’ll be the first person with a big smile on my face, writing his name on the lineup card,” Baldelli said. “He’s getting there.”

Correa gets rest day

Carlos Correa had a scheduled rest day, and that’s why he wasn’t in the lineup when the Twins hosted the Mariners on Thursday.

“We just put him in there every day and he just plays, so he’s been due for a day.” Baldelli said. “He probably needed a day at some point previously this week and he didn’t get it.”

The plan is for Correa to return to the lineup on Friday afternoon when the Twins travel to play the Toronto Blue Jays.

“This was something we had to do,” Baldelli said. “He’ll be ready to go forward from here.”

Thielbar at full strength

After returning from the injured list last month, Caleb Thielbar only pitched in certain situations out the bullpen as he worked back into a groove. He appears to be back to full strength now with the Twins comfortable using him in pretty much any situation.

“We just put Caleb in games and if he faces righties, he faces righties,” Baldelli said. “That’s something he can do. When he first returned and came back this season, I think kind of easing him back in was important. I think we’re probably at the point where that’s over with, though, and now he’s just a member of the bullpen.”

A calling card for the left-handed Thielbar throughout his career is fact that he can pitch against lefties or righties out of the bullpen. That’s not always the case for southpaws out of the bullpen.

“He’s still able to go out there because he’s got a unique look to him,” Baldelli said. “It’s just a really particular way that the ball comes out of his hand and the angles that he uses. He’s good. There’s a reason why he keeps having this sustained success.”

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Karl-Anthony Towns honors the memory of his late mother, Jackie — who passed away in 2020 — every day in a number of ways.

Not the least of which is his commitment to spreading the lessons she taught him during their time together. Perhaps the most basic — and important — one of those lessons was love.

“I just try to spread love. My mother taught me the meaning of love, and I just want to continue the teachings that she’s given me in her life and spread it with the youth and every generation to come,” Towns said. “It’s just an ongoing journey that I have, and I feel that my purpose in life is to utilize this platform for the betterment of others.”

He’s certainly fulfilling that, as recognized Thursday, when Towns was named the 2023-24 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion by the NBA. The award “honors a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and upholding the league’s values of equality, respect and inclusion.” Towns was previously nominated for the award back in 2022.

“It means a lot. To have a name like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar be on an award and to be receiving that award as a guy who’s impacted the game not only on the court, but off the court, it means a lot,” Towns said. “Even when I was (previously) nominated  … my girlfriend, she saw the excitement on my face to be recognized by a legend like that.”

The recognition is a result of the work Towns has done on multiple issues; one of which was his work and advocacy for expanded voter rights in Minnesota. He assisted in the passing of Bill HF28 – Minnesota’s Restore the Vote bill, which allows formerly incarcerated individuals the right to vote.

He’s also shed a light on issues with mass incarceration.

Towns participated in community conversations and visited with the Minnesota Freedom Fund, New Justice Project, Minnesota Justice Research Center and All-Square, all organizations who played a role in passing the bill.

And that’s not all. Towns holds an annual coat drive with Hy-Vee and YouthLink to keep kids in need stay warm in the winter. He’s heavily involved with the team’s annual Pride Night at Target Center and produced the documentary “Forgiving Johnny,” which shows an LA County public defender who used new technology to successfully defend a client with developmental disabilities facing a 20-year prison sentence.

“It’s always something I wanted to do. I’ve said it before, I want to leave the world a better place than when I came into it. For my mom being an immigrant, coming over from Dominican Republic, and one of the things I remember young is that she was super excited and kinda had a celebration for getting her vote, her right to vote and getting her citizenship,” Towns said. “For me, I made that a key for me, especially with how things have turned out in Minnesota, in Minneapolis. I thought it was a great way to honor my mother and continue to fight for the right to vote. She realized her American dream when she got that, right? And I want other people to have that dream as well, and to realize it.”

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch always praises the quality of people the team has accrued on its roster. Towns is a shining example of that.

“We know the work he’s done and (how he’s) active in the community here,” Finch said. “To get that type of recognition, such a prestigious award, we’re very proud of him.”

How does Towns find the time to do so much in the community?

“Good scheduling,” he joked.

Along with some help from family and friends.

“I always dedicate so much of my life to basketball, but I have a very great support system that is willing to join me in these efforts,” Towns said. “Instead of having to feel that I’m splitting too much of my time, they join me. Like my family and my friends, who enjoy joining me in these charitable events that I have and things I want to do to impact the community.”

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Timberwolves coach Chris Finch attended the team’s practice the day after he had surgery to repair his ruptured patellar tendon. There the head man was, on the floor, crutching around at a time when most would’ve been planted on their couches.

And then, shortly after practice concluded, the pain truly kicked in.

“I think the initial pain medication that they gave him was starting to wear off from the surgery,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori told Chat Hartman on WCCO Radio that afternoon. “So I think he was in immense pain,”

Indeed, after the nerve blocker applied post surgery runs its course, things get real.

Surely, that pain — which kicked in just two days prior to Game 1 in Denver — would be enough to sideline the head coach.

Not quite. Finch had a post-op appointment that Friday morning, then almost immediately got a flight to Denver and rejoined the team at practice that afternoon.

It’s unimaginable.

“I tell you,” Nori said, “he’s a trooper and he’s a warrior.”

Finch sat in the second row, just off from the scorer’s table for the first two games in Denver — both victories.

“It was great. Most important thing for me was finding a way for me to be involved and active, and also be in a place where I felt safe; where I wasn’t going to catch anything that I couldn’t get out of the way of. That was all great,” Finch said. “I could see easily, I could engage with the players, engage with the coaches. Our coaches have done an incredible job. We have a great staff here. I trust them implicitly, so it’s pretty seamless, to be quite honest with you.

“My biggest concern was would it be disruptive or distracting to the players and they’ve been all on board and they flow easily with this stuff.”

Not ideal, but he made it work.

“Just gotta adjust. That’s what leadership is about,” Finch told Paul Allen on KFXN-100.3. “You’ve got to adjust whatever your circumstances are.”

Still, while Finch’s setup was safe, there’s no way it was comfortable. It’s not as though his leg — which is locked into a straight-leg cast for the foreseeable future — was elevated.

“Yeah, I’m in a pretty good amount of pain,” Finch told Allen on Monday. “Kind of constant pain all the time.”

Whenever he wasn’t at practice or a game, he was on a couch with his leg elevated and wrapped in ice.

“It’s just part of it. You’ve just got to deal with it,” Finch told Allen. “It’s not been too, too bad, and I know the guys appreciate having me around and I appreciate being around, so I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

While Nori was the one stalking the sidelines for each of Minnesota’s two victories in Denver — and played a large role in the team’s success — Finch’s presence mattered.

“He’s our leader, he’s a guy you can look over to and, even still, he hops over on the crutches at times when he’s yelling at guys behind the bench. That passion he has for the game, it’s rubbing off on other guys,” Conley said. “We’re doing a great job of keeping him involved, keeping him engaged and he’s doing a great job keeping on us and just being who he is.”

The full version of who he is.

Finch has largely kept off the narcotic painkillers in his recovery — unfathomable for many people who’ve endured that surgery. He refused to take any strong painkillers around game time, and has largely just been on Tylenol. The coach isn’t doing anything to jeopardize his clarity at the climax of the season.

“He wants this. He wants to be a part of this, and we want him to be a part of this,” Wolves forward Naz Reid said. “That’s huge for us to see that toughness he has to still be a part of this. That’s exciting.”

Toughness — it’s something Finch demands of his team on a daily basis. It’s that culture of competitiveness that’s helped breed the NBA’s top defense. Throughout the regular season, Finch implores his players to be available and play, knowing those habits would serve the team well come playoffs.

Now, he’s practicing what he preached.

“If he’s going to tell us to play through injuries and stuff like that, he better damn well be on that bench,” Conley joked. “So, he’s doing a great job.”

Heading into Friday’s Game 3 at Target Center, Finch is improving physically every day. He certainly still “has some moments” of intense pain every day, but they’re becoming fewer and farther between.

“That’s the good thing. It’s going in the right direction. The doctors are really happy. Can put a little bit more weight on it starting right now. Started therapy yesterday,” Finch said Thursday. “The pain comes and goes in different forms, but overall, it’s been manageable.”

Game 3 would’ve been a logical time for the coach to join his team on the sidelines. That he miraculously did so nearly a week earlier is something his players won’t soon forget.

“Someone like me who just came off (meniscus) surgery on my knee, and it was nowhere near as major as his, I can imagine the doctor told him not to travel and not fly, and Finchy said, ‘Hell no, I’m gonna be there for my team,’” Wolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns said. “So, (as) the leader of our team, when you have someone who is willing to fight like that, of course his troops are willing to fight just as hard.”

“That,” Anthony Edwards said, “is the perfect answer.”

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