Royce Lewis may still be a ways out from returning to game action, but the Twins’ third baseman is starting to move into baseball activities, a positive sign as he recovers from a severe right quad strain.

Lewis suffered the strain running the bases on Opening Day and head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said they’re looking to get him into a running progression around the end of next week. Once he starts running, they’ll have a better sense of what his timeline for a return will look like.

“He’s still got some boxes to check for us, but heading in the right direction for him,” Paparesta said.

Lewis swung off a tee on Friday for the first time since suffering the injury on March 28. While Paparesta said Lewis has reported feeling ready to play now, it’s his job to make sure that they’re moving on an appropriate timeline and making sure they give the injury proper time to heal.

“I think sometimes people forget that we’re only three weeks into the season,” Paparesta  said. “He’s only been hurt for three week which, I know, only seems like it’s still a long time. … We are three weeks into the season and we need to be conscientious about the rest of the year ahead of us.”

Correa update

Just over a week after suffering a mild right intercostal strain, Twins shortstop Carlos Correa reported feeling much better and Paparesta said the shortstop’s symptoms are “improving dramatically.”

Correa has started doing rotation activity and has been making what he described as “good progress.” Sometime next week, he hopes to start swinging the bat.

“We’re making sure we take care of it and when I get back, it’s in a good spot so I don’t miss more time,” Correa said. “It can get kind of tricky with that area. If it gets a lot worse, you can end up missing months and that’s definitely not what I want to do.”

Other injury updates

While the Twins are expecting most of their injured players back at one point or another, they learned recently that reliever Daniel Duarte, a non-roster invite who made the team out of camp, will need elbow surgery. While it’s unclear if he needs Tommy John surgery or different procedure, it’s clear that he’ll be out for the rest season. His surgery is set for May 8 with Dr. Keith Meister, who will decide then exactly how to best treat Duarte, Paparesta said.
Reliever Justin Topa (patellar tendinitis) threw a game-simulated bullpen session on Saturday, which Lewis stood in on and tracked pitches. The Twins plan to have him throw live batting practice on Tuesday and if that goes well, then he’s likely to head out on a rehab assignment, Paparesta said.
Relievers Josh Winder and Zack Weiss, both dealing with shoulder issues, are still far off from a potential return. Winder has thrown live batting practice in Florida and is getting close to pitching in extended spring training but the Twins will use May to build him up. Weiss is even further, currently just long tossing.
Max Kepler (knee) and Jhoan Duran (oblique) are both relatively close to returning with Kepler on a rehab assignment currently and Duran set to rehab with the Saints next week.

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