Royce Lewis Has "Moderate" Hamstring Strain, Out for Opening Day

I won't expect him back until June. No reason to rush things along at the start of the season.

If he's back before June I'll be moderately surprised. Grade 2 does indeed indicate partial tearing of the soft tissues so I'd bet with his injury history they will not rush him back. 

I just hope he's giving advice about this to Jenkins and EmRod.  They need to learn from the best.

Makes Buxton look like Lou Gehrig.

wow.  You have to wonder the training regiments of these guys.  For a 20 something year old they shouldn't be pulling hammy's that often.  Are these guys doing squats and deadlifts? Are they stretching properly before gametime?  They should be. 

Sigh. It's a shame that a player with some much skill, so much talent is always struggling to show it on the field because of injuries. Moderate is better than severe, but it's still significant. Here's hoping he's back by May; we should be thinking weeks rather than months right now.

An opportunity has been created for Brooks Lee, Jose Miranda, and Ed Julien (heck, even Mickey Gasper is likely to get a shot while Royce is on the shelf). Who will be the guy to seize it? Hope one of them makes it easy to go slow on Royce's return.

I’m thinking he rejoins club after the all-star break.

The pessimist in me says that’s how long this injury will take.

The optimist in me says it will take a SECOND hamstring strain (stretching a single in St Paul, etc) to keep him out that long.

8 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Maybe a little less squats and deadlifts and dedicate some time to yoga type stretching activity.

Yes, both would be ideal.  Squats and deadlifts also strengthen the core muscles of the lower back and stomach area too.  

32 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

I'm not sure the optimist in you is actually an optimist. 

I’m not sure anymore either. But it’s nothing that an AL pennant can’t fix.

Problem is with guys like Lewis, or Buxton, they are never 100%. At any nano second after returning to the line up at 100%, they are more likely than 99% of other players to get hurt again in rather short order. Just doing normal baseball activities like running, accelerating or you name it, seems to be too much for their fragile bodies. With Lewis, it's not how much time he will miss in any given season, it's how many games he will actually play. When he does come back, he's a ticking time bomb until he explodes again. 

To me the issue isn't how long this specific injury keeps him out...the issue is that this is yet another injury in a young career that's already been full of them. It certainly feels reasonable at this point to be concerned he'll never be able to make it through a full season.

Another 2 months off for Lewis looks possible.  What else Is new?  Buxton 2.0. Then at the end of the season Lewis will again claim he's tired and worn out.  Just like last year.

People could keep track on an Excel or Word doc of all the injuries to salve their curiosity about the frequency and type of injuries that occur this year. 

Once upon a time I was at a tournament and saw the most athletic player tear his hamstring running down the first base line. It totally ripped and rolled up the back of his leg. Gross. Also, across the years more than a few players succumbed to plantar fasciitis. I'm not sure days off help either.

It seems rather pointless to pick a type of player that gets injured often too. Marcus Semien has basically played every day except for 1 year since he signed and he is a quick twitch athlete. Paul Molitor was called injury prone because an entire trove of serious injuries stole a couple of years from his career, yet he played over 2600 games with over 10,000 at bats. 

I'm hoping both Buxton and Correa stay in the lineup a ton this year because they are the guys who need to lead this team. If players get injured, another guy gets an opportunity. I'm not going to blame the condition of anyone or the trainers or coaches. S**t happens.

 There was a 9 year stretch of Kirby Puckett's career where he played at least 146 games each year. good ol roly poly Puckett. And these jacked athletes can't stay on the field...

With his numerous injuries, is he not only  "Buxton 2.0" but also "Kirilloff 2.0"? If his injuries continue, I wonder if he'll decide to retire in a couple of years. I also wonder about Caterino.

8 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I expect 6-8 weeks. All of April, maybe until 2nd week of May. He'll miss at least 30 games of the regular season.

....more....

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Paul Molitor was called injury prone because an entire trove of serious injuries stole a couple of years from his career, yet he played over 2600 games with over 10,000 at bats. 

Kind of funny what they considered injury prone in the past compared to the current athlete.

Molitor played 125 (21), 140 (22), 111 (23),64(24), 160 (25), he had almost a whole career by the time he was Lewis's age. Molitor was an iron man compared to Lewis and Buxton. In his 21 year career he played less than 125 7 times and one was a strike.

John Castino comes to mind when players with talent are injured and forced out of baseball. Castino was ROY, but out of baseball at 29 years of age due to debilitating back injuries. 

Royce Lewis hasn't yet accumulated a season of games at the MLB level but he was knighted a cornerstone and key player by media and fans due to his draft position and promise. We watched Lewis flash his bat on a few precious occasions and it seems those highlights will carry him until he either learns the game and performs or injuries thwart the hope.

We can only hope that Lewis somehow escapes further injury but his troubles highlight the incredible difficulty of playing professional sports.

Disappointing but not surprising at all. With Lewis being out until early May probably, it makes it even more important to keep Correa and Buxton healthy. One silver lining is that we are relatively prepared to weather Lewis' IL stint. Miranda could take over 3rd as well as Castro. Defensively Lee would be best, big then that opens 2b which Castro could handle well enough for a month. I just hope Julien doesn't automatically make the team now. I really think he needs to play everyday in AAA rather than be a bench bat with the twins. I think I'd rather see Gasper short term until Keaschal is ready to play the field