Twins’ Royce Lewis Placed on IL with Quad Injury Suffered on 2024 MLB Opening Day

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIMarch 30, 2024

Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images

The Minnesota Twins announced that third baseman Royce Lewis has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain. Rookie utility player Austin Martin will take his place on the Twins’ roster.

Per Dan Hayes of the Athletic, Lewis’ injury occurred while he ran from first to third following a Carlos Correa third-inning double during the Twins’ 4-1 Opening Day win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. Edouard Julien replaced Lewis on the basepaths.

Lewis began the year with a solo home run in the first inning before adding a single in the third.

Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft, has posted 18 home runs alongside 58 RBI and a .313 batting average (.933 OPS) in 71 career games. His per-162 game average is 41 home runs and 132 RBI, per Baseball-Reference.

Unfortunately, Lewis has suffered serious injuries, including two torn ACLs, that have kept him off the field more often than not.

The latest IL stint marks his fifth time on the list.

Now Martin gets his first shot at the big league level. The Toronto Blue Jays selected the former Vanderbilt shortstop with the No. 5 overall choice in the 2020 MLB draft. One year later, Toronto sent Martin and pitcher Simeon Woods-Richardson to the Minnesota Twins for starter Jose Berrios.

In 59 games for Triple-A St. Paul last year, Martin hit .263 (.791 OPS) with six home runs and 28 RBI.

The Twins continue their three-game road series against Kansas City on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET.