Royce Lewis' first major league season is over, but that's hard to tell by looking at him.
The compression sleeve on his right knee was the only hint in the Twins' clubhouse Friday that the top prospect wasn't fully healthy, because his face was all smiles even as he detailed having to surgically repair his right knee for the second time in as many years.
"Finally playing again, having so much fun doing it and didn't care where I played, where I was hitting, not hitting, on the bench. As long as I was healthy, having a chance to play," Lewis said. "And now it's all over again. Part two."
The shortstop first tore his anterior cruciate ligament early in 2021 and had surgery to repair it which took him out for the whole season, after he hadn't played at all in 2020 either when the pandemic canceled minor league ball. He returned to the field this season, making his MLB debut when shortstop Carlos Correa was out with an injury.
The Twins briefly sent the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft back to Class AAA St. Paul to gain experience at other positions and had just recalled him to play center field May 29. But as he was making a catch early in that game, he slammed into the wall, which is what reinjured his knee, ending his season with 12 major league games and a .300 batting average.
The 23-year-old likened the impact to that of a car crash. Lewis said after talking with primarily center fielders like Byron Buxton, he realized he mistimed his jump for the catch, which is understandable given it was his first big-league game there.
"All I remember is I knew I was about to make a really cool play, because you can just tell when you're about to make a catch or not," Lewis said. "… I told all my buddies and even my teammates, 'Center field is pretty easy.' … [Now] I'm afraid of the wall."
Both Lewis and manager Rocco Baldelli said they have no regrets about moving him around the field.