The A.L. Central leading Twins are getting one of their stars back on the field.
Shortstop Carlos Correa is being activated from the 10-day IL after being hit by a pitch and suffering a finger injury on May 5th.
Correa's return to the Twins means infielder Royce Lewis is headed back to Triple-A St. Paul. Lewis has quickly become a fan favorite in Twins Territory since making his MLB debut on May 6.
"I would say when you have a young kid come up, get his feet, and perform the way you hope he will over the long term, it's really a great sign," said Derek Falvey, President of Baseball Operations for the Minnesota Twins. "I think Royce is going to be a big part of this team."
Lewis appeared in 11 games for the Twins, hitting .308 with four doubles, two home runs, five RBI, one walk, five runs scored, a .325 on-base percentage and an .889 OPS.
"[Royce] got experience and exposure up here a little earlier than I think we expected ultimately with with Carlos' injury," Falvey told WCCO Radio's Vineeta Sawkar on Wednesday. "With Carlos coming back and playing everyday at shortstop, we want Royce to continue everyday with that development."
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Falvey joined the WCCO Radio Morning News following Sunday's game where centerfielder Byron Buxton launched his 11th home run of the season. After the game, Buxton explained the plan moving forward to ensure he stays healthy not only this season, but for seasons yet to come.
“We’ve got a process, a process of me staying on the field, trying to play 100 games,” Buxton said. “So however that looks, who knows? But that's what we have, a plan here, and it's what we're going to stick to. Whatever else, outside of that, kind of doesn’t really matter to us. It's all about winning.”
While a 100 game plan for Buxton may leave fans and writers grumbling, Falvey explained the approach on Wednesday.
"He hasn't played 100 games over the last handful of years and ultimately, we want to exceed that. That is not the ultimate goal, but to get above that," he said. "We view this as a way to get him the most possible impact on this team is to try and let him rest at times, let him DH somedays, and track that out over the course of a season. We think playing him everyday and grinding him out everyday might end up with something that might require an IL stint or a little bit more time down."
The Twins wrap-up a three-game series Wednesday afternoon in Oakland.
Thursday is an off-day for the Twins, who face the Kansas City Royals in a three-game weekend series at Kauffman Stadium.