Star-crossed Royce Lewis decides surgery beats playing out season at less than full speed

A group of reporters entered Rocco Baldelli's office a few minutes after 4 p.m. This was the pregame briefing from the Twins manager, and Friday there was a promise of news.

A couple of minutes of small talk and then Baldelli got to it:

On further inspection, Royce Lewis' major collision with Target Field's center-field fence on May 29 had led to significant damage to his right knee and, now, Lewis had made the decision to undergo anterior cruciate ligament repair for the second time in 16 months.

Lewis had debuted and played very well in 11 games earlier in May as the replacement for injured Carlos Correa as shortstop.

When Correa returned, Lewis was sent back to Class AAA St. Paul, causing both outrage and pouting among Twins fandom and numerous local media.

Someone actually expressed the opinion Lewis' demotion was a "slap in the face" to Twins fans.

The consternation was such that Derek Falvey, the baseball boss, went out of his way to explain that Lewis would play several positions with the Saints. And that versatility was likely to hasten his return to the Twins.

Gilberto Celestino had gone on the COVID-19 list on May 28. The Twins fulfilled Falvey's semi-promise and called back Lewis from St. Paul.

A prime duty for Celestino was to play center field when Byron Buxton was not out there, based either on actual injury or his team's master plan.

Sadly, one of Lewis' added positions was center field, and there he was on the last Sunday of May, with Buxton getting the dose of inactivity that goes with being a designated hitter.

Kansas City's Emmanuel Rivera led off the third with a drive to center. And here's the truth:

Watching on BSN, not in person, my thought was there was uncertainty in Lewis' retreat. Watching the video several times later, I wasn't as sure of that.

Whatever, Lewis made an excellent catch, delivered a thump to the padded fence, and then crashed to the warning track.

It was surprising that he stayed in for the next two outs. It was not surprising that Nick Gordon took over in center for the fourth.

The Twins put Lewis on the injured list the next day with a "bone bruise." That was the optimistic view taken from an MRI that was processed while Lewis' right knee still was significantly swollen.

The result of a second MRI came in Thursday. A fraying had occurred to the previous repair. There were two possibilities:

Wait awhile longer, brace the knee, and play at what figured to be less than full speed. Or have a second surgery, go through the full rehab again, and presumably return shortly after what will be Lewis' 24th birthday next June 5.

Agent Scott Boras had to be influential in this decision. Healthy and 24 defeats being a knee-challenged extra player down the stretch for the 2022 Twins when it comes to future value.

Lewis talked with the media in his usual amiable style after Baldelli was finished. He claimed no regrets over doing this damage in center, then almost accidentally hit on several reasons it was a risky Twins move that turned to calamity.

Rookie shortstop, but novice center fielder, Lewis explained that he thought he was closer to the wall when jumping to make that catch.

"I was probably about five feet more away than I thought," he said. "You can see it in the play. I landed before I even hit the wall, going in with my momentum at whatever miles per hour. … It was like getting into a car accident sideways.

"I'm not familiar with the outfield in general, so that's probably why I'm very happy I made the catch."

Question A, Royce: Why were you in center field?

"Helping the team; helping the team win," he said. "I'm a baseball player first. I'm not a guy that says, 'I'm a shortstop.' I'd like to play shortstop. I think that's the position I can be best at going forward."

Forward as an everyday shortstop was supposed to be Opening Day 2023, after Correa (another Boras client) opts out to sign a longer free-agent deal in the $200 million range with another team.

Now, rather than keeping Lewis where he was familiar and his winding up back in surgery, the Twins can search again to fill the most important infield position.

Maybe Andrelton Simmons will be looking for work again.

One last thing, Royce: Who was it toughest to break this news to?

"Myself … I think it was tough for everyone, but myself," Lewis said. "I'm the one who has to go through all of it again."