The Twins hope to pencil the names “Lewis” and “Lee” into the lineup together hundreds of times over the course of the upcoming years.

But Wednesday, the first time Brooks Lee got the call, it came at Royce Lewis’s expense. Lewis was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right adductor strain after leaving Tuesday night’s game early. To fill his spot on the roster, the Twins called up Lee, giving an opportunity to the 23-year-old top prospect.

That made Wednesday somewhat of a bittersweet day for the Twins.

Lewis, who suffered a severe quad strain running the bases on Opening Day and subsequently missed the next 58 games, is not expected to miss as much time this time around.

President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said they anticipate him being down for a few weeks with what he said was a Grade 2 strain. Falvey said they will revisit his timeline and return after the All-Star break, which runs through July 19.

“It’s a difficult day,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “… Obviously he’s been excellent when he’s been out there playing. He’s been a huge part of the great run of baseball we’ve been playing.”

Lewis was nothing short of spectacular when he returned in June, hitting 10 home runs in his first 16 games of the season. At the time of his injury, he was hitting .292 with a 1.039 OPS in 24 games played, having helped reinvigorate the Twins’ offense.

The injury is yet another hurdle in a promising young career filled with them. Lewis twice had anterior cruciate ligament tears that required surgery. Over the past two seasons, he’s dealt with an oblique, hamstring, quadricep and now an adductor injury that have forced him off the field.

While the two injuries this season have both been on his right side in a similar area, Falvey said it is “hard to really pinpoint,” if there’s a connection.

“Obviously tough news for Royce. He’s been through a lot. We’ve talked about this too much at this stage,” Falvey said. “ … (It’s) just an unfortunate reality with him but hopefully we’ll get him back as soon as we can.”

In the meantime, the Twins will slot in Lee and get a good look at the player whom they drafted eighth overall in 2022. Lee is currently the Twins’ No. 2 prospect and is ranked 13th overall by MLB Pipeline.

While Lee will primarily play third base, Baldelli said he would “continue to stay sharp” all over the field.

Lee, who might have gotten the call earlier this season when Lewis landed on the injured list if not for his own back injury, has hit .329/.394/.635 with a 1.029 OPS in 20 games at Triple-A St. Paul since his return.

He’s made great strides particularly from the right-side of the plate, a focus for him this offseason, to the point where he said he is more confident in his right side than his left currently.

“The fact that he continues to mature as a hitter, it’s just a really good sign,” Falvey said. “ … He’s ready for this.”

While Lee said he was trying to get his family in town at the very least for Thursday’s game, he got to share a touching phone call with his mother, father and sister upon getting the news of the lifetime.

“Everyone was crying. A special moment,” Lee said. “I think they all knew it would happen at some point soon. I didn’t know when it was going to be, but I’m happy to be here.”

Briefly

The Twins and Tigers will now play their series finale at 12:10 p.m. on Thursday instead of 1:10 p.m. as originally scheduled. Gates to the ballpark will open at 10:30 a.m. The move was made in response to the weather forecast, which calls for rain later on Thursday. … To add Lee to the 40-man roster, the Twins transferred Brock Stewart (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list. Stewart has progressed into throwing live batting practice and the move does not have an impact on when he will return — he has already been on the IL since May 3.

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