Royce Lewis' answer to any question about his health is always, "I feel great!" But truthfully, Lewis said Tuesday, when he felt that sudden pain in his hamstring as he ran to first base on March 16, he knew he wouldn't be playing for a while.

"When they first told me the [diagnosis], I would've told you I probably wouldn't be here right now," Lewis said, shortly after being activated from the injured list. "So that makes it that much more exciting."

How exciting?

"Just the tingleness that I get right now," Lewis said, actual words not being enough to express the intensity of his emotions. "The excitement's back. The little butterflies, as long as I'm leaning in the right direction, I'll have them working for me instead of against me."

And for the Twins, too, who have missed his production in the middle of the lineup. Even having to endure the worst hitting slump of his career last September, Lewis managed to hit 16 home runs in just 82 games, a power threat that, Byron Buxton aside, is noticeably missing from the Twins' lineup in 2025.

Now that he's back, Lewis figures to split playing time for a while between third base and designated hitter, his assignment Tuesday, when he went 0-for-4. In part, it's to protect his health as he ramps up — his 4-for-23 results in a rehab week with Class AAA St. Paul show he may not be there yet — but staying healthy will take thought on his part, he said.

"You need to be smart. That's what some of the other guys I've seen play the game at a high level do to be able to play 162," Lewis said. "If I had Bobby Witt speed, I'd run a lot, but I'm not there anymore with all the injuries. So I just have to play smart whenever I get in the box."

Where to play Castro?

In addition to Lewis, the Twins also activated Willi Castro from the injured list, his oblique strain now healed. The Twins' roster has changed since Castro was injured April 16, so it's not clear yet where Castro's playing time might come.

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Castro was in left field Tuesday; he went 1-for-3 and scored two runs in only his second start in the outfield this season. He has started eight games at second base, where Brooks Lee has played for the past two weeks, and seven at third base, where Lewis is the regular.

"I haven't actually thought about that one bit, and that's kind of the beauty of Willi Castro: You don't have to plan things out for him," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Initially, I had him in right field today, which he has only played one time for us. I did let him know with one day's heads up that he was going to play a position that he hadn't played yet, but that tells you how we feel about him. Some guys, they'd have a tough time with finding that out a day before, having never gotten a ton of work at a particular spot. Willi will figure it out and he'll be OK. Mentally, he's just ready to play."

Etc.

  • Harrison Bader was scratched from Tuesday's Twins lineup after coming down with an illness, Baldelli said. "I'm not sure what he's going to be able to do to help us today. He's kind of like Captain America, so you could see him riding in on something and being ready to go halfway through the game. … But he was pretty ill. We've had a few guys [recently] who are sick."
  • Austin Martin was activated from the Class AAA injury list Tuesday but lasted only one inning. Martin, out four weeks since suffering a strained right hamstring while making a catch in the outfield for the Saints, was removed after apparently reinjuring the same hamstring while scoring on a double steal.
  • José Miranda took batting practice on the field Tuesday for the first time since suffering a hand injury April 14. Miranda also did fielding drills at third base, and he will likely be activated from the injured list later this week.
  • Carson McCusker hit his seventh and eighth home runs of the season for the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday in a 6-2 victory over Buffalo at CHS Field. Saints starting pitcher David Festa gave up three hits and one earned run in 5 ⅔ innings.