The Twins appear close to getting one of their sluggers back.

Royce Lewis, the 2017 first-overall draft pick with 31 home runs and 80 RBIs in just 100 major league games, told reporters Monday he’s ready to join Triple-A St. Paul when the Saints play host to Omaha on Tuesday at CHS Field.

“That’s the goal,” Lewis said. “I don’t know what anything is other than I’ll go over there. I don’t know if it’s DH or third (base) or what the plan is. I’m assuming, hoping, it should just be third right away and let’s go.”

Lewis said he hoped his workout before Monday’s rain-delayed start against the Phillies at Target Field convinced the team he’s ready for a rehab assignment.

“I’m doing, honestly, more than I would normally do for a game day,” he said. “Ultimately, I feel like I’m ready to start playing. I was already told if running went well today, which I was just waiting (for) — I didn’t want to say it before — because if it went well today, I’d be playing in St. Paul tomorrow.”

Lewis has been plagued by injuries since he first tore his right anterior cruciate ligament during spring training in 2021, then tore it again while making a catch at the wall in center field on May 21, 2022. Before his current stint on the injured list, Lewis missed 58 games this season because of a quadriceps injury.

Still, his optimism in the face of injury already is legendary in the Twins’ clubhouse, and while the Twins are happy with how he has been progressing, manager Rocco Baldelli wasn’t ready to confirm the third baseman’s news.

“I don’t make those things official until he goes,” he said. “I want to get through today and not talk about it. I confirm nothing on this until he gets through everything today. When he leaves and goes over there, then we’ll say he’s going on a rehab assignment. But he’s doing good.”

Julien takes his lumps

Second baseman Edouard Julien, who stuck with the big league roster last season after only 38 games at St. Paul, is back with the Twins after being sent back to Triple-A to fix his swing on June 4. At the time, he was hitting .207 with 66 strikeouts in 58 games.

“I don’t think about me being sent down. It was more about struggling,” Julien said Monday. “I had never really struggled at the plate especially, in the minor leagues or before. It was hard for that longer span to not do as well as I was used to. I think that was the hardest part.”

In 35 games at St. Paul, Julien hit .233 with eight extra-base hits and 11 RBIs before being recalled. In two games since returning, he was 1 for 4 with two walks heading into Monday. He wasn’t in Monday’s starting lineup.

Baldelli said the demotion might have been a “shock to the system” for Julien, who had never really struggled offensively until this season. The challenge, the manager said, was to accept the fact that pitchers were attacking him successfully and that he needed to make adjustments to keep up.

“I think he knew that when he was here the first time around, but I don’t think he was fully prepared to acknowledge and do the things that he needed to do to succeed,” Baldelli said. “Sometimes it takes a little time for those things to sink in. I think that’s fine. I do think that the way he’s acknowledging all that is different than it was then.”

Said Julien: “Maybe it was just a slap in the face to go down there and not feel bad about myself but keep working and try to find it to come back here. That’s all I can control.”

Correa plays it safe

Carlos Correa was in the clubhouse before Monday’s game wearing a stabilizing boot on his injured right foot and unsure about when he would play again. He was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis before the team broke for the All-Star break.

Upon his return, Correa had an injection of platelet-rich plasma in his right heel.

Correa was slowed by plantar fasciitis in his left foot last season, limited to just 135 games. He said he told trainer Nick Paparesta that he could have played on Sunday but the two decided to play it conservatively after going in and out of the lineup last year.

“Instead of having to go through that in the second half and see the performance dip because of it, we decided we would go this route and take a week or whatever it takes — and then when it heals, come back and hopefully it lasts until the end of the season,” he said.

Briefly

Right-hander Brock Stewart was in the Twins’ clubhouse after throwing in four games with St. Paul. “I’m not sure what the next step is,” he said, “but I think I’m ready to go.” … Baldelli talked about Manuel Margot, who started Monday 0 for 23 as a pinch hitter: “I’m still going to bet on the guy who’s a good right-handed bat to go up there in those spots.”

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