Lewis running the 'gauntlet,' champing at the bit to return

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Royce Lewis has been out since March and will be out at least a couple more weeks as he recovers from a moderate left hamstring strain. But instead of staying back at camp in Florida, he’s been with the Twins in Minnesota, around the clubhouse every day. MLB caught up with Lewis on Wednesday to talk to him about his daily routine and the experience of working to get back while you watch your teammates play.

This conversation has been edited for clarity.

So first of all, what is a typical day like here?
Whenever the clubhouse opens, they ask me to be here an hour before that, just so I can kind of be out of the way in the training room for the guys that are getting ready for the game. So let's say, a 12 o'clock game, I started my day at eight and did a lighter training room routine, just because it's kind of like a hectic day.

What are you doing when you go in there to start the morning?
I call it the gauntlet, because every day is a little bit different but we're running through as much as we can. We're being smart about it, strategic, so one day will be a little bit softer tissue. The next day might be very hard tissue. I go in there, I do PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic frequency). We call it the Thumper; it kind of thumps your body. It's basically a big stim unit that puts some frequencies through your muscles, and it's supposed to help recovery. I’ll be honest -- I don't know exactly what it is, but I let the professionals tell me why they do it.

We do that first. That's 5-10 minutes of my time. Laser, which is like a heat, promotes recovery. And then some manual kind of movements, tibial exercises, where they'll manipulate my tibia and get it in the position we need it to.

Then check my hips. Where are those at today? We make sure we dot our T's, cross our I’s, mix it up like that. Just have fun with it in the morning and it's very light. And then I start doing the movement prep, move around, go through a power circuit. [Most days], I lift. Wednesdays and Sundays, I don't, because usually that's a getaway day. After my lift, I'll try to find time to hit within the schedule, but I usually have to wait about 30 minutes to an hour, because guys are always coming in and out, and the guys who are playing the game [get priority]. When you're playing, if you show up, it’s your turn.

So I think that's the hardest part about being in rehab is that you feel like you're in the way. Even though you're not, that's just kind of the way it kind of feels at times. So, trying to get out of the way as much as possible, but also get my work in, is one of the harder things. But I think it's the best thing, because I'm happy to be here doing it. And I definitely am happy to be around for the games. They’re so much fun.

Rehabbing guys often say that it's really hard to know that they can’t help the team. Do you feel like that’s how you can contribute?
Oh yeah. I feel like my energy is the way I can contribute. At the moment, it's kind of the only thing I can really contribute. But I think it contributes a lot more than I originally thought, especially when I have guys coming up and saying, ‘Thank you for just bringing the energy, it means a lot.’ I just want them to know that I'm here for them. Whether I'm playing or I'm not, I care. I know in rehab, typically, a lot of guys kind of just leave.

How does having done injury rehab before inform how you go through it this time?
I think it's harder, because feels like I'm the only one with the bad luck. I hate it. I wish I had, like, an ounce of good luck in me. Every time I do something right, it feels like it's wrong. That's the worst feeling ever. Going through it right now, it's annoying, because I feel really good and I want to be out there, but they're telling me no, which is usually always the case.

I wish I was my own trainer at the same time, and manager, so I could put myself in the lineup. For me, whenever I can walk, I can play, but obviously they're taking care of my long-term health. I'm at a point where I just want to freakin’ play games. That's the love of my life. I want to enjoy it as long as I can. I know how easily it can be taken away from you, and I've experienced that firsthand too many times, unfortunately. So hopefully, when I get back out, they'll just keep me out there as long as they can.

One point you made to us the very first day was that, baseball aside, you were in pain. How do you feel now?
Really good. I haven't felt any issues, other than, like a typical general soreness or fatigue, based on how much work we put in a given day. Say, three days ago, we had a lot of strength, big strength day. We did a lot of Nordics, a lot of hamstring RDLs, hamstring curls. We kind of just threw the gauntlet at it there. And when I did that, the next day, I felt, obviously a little bit sore, as I would if I did 100 crunches or something like that. It’s like in the offseason, when you pick up a bat for the first time, swing 100 times, you’re like, ‘Wow, I forgot how much it takes out of your body, and that's how it feels.’

But that's not even every day. That's only on days when we know we're putting a lot into it. And it's honestly been recovering faster than I thought, which is really good.

How's your mindset when you're not here at the park or around the guys? When the guys are on the road, or when you're not around here, how tough is it to kind of maintain that energy and positivity?
Especially when the team’s on the road and let's say we lose on a given day, I think that's the worst day. It just feels like a pit in my stomach. That sucks. Obviously the loss, but I couldn't even be there to cheer them on, or just be there with them at the time. … This is a family. When your family takes a loss, whether it's a family member or something going down, you want to be there with them, because that's your family, and that's exactly how I feel. And when things go good, you want to be there to celebrate with them. Because that's your family too.

That's exactly how I feel, and I think that's where it sucks, but if I wasn't here when they come back home, I think it'd be a lot worse. So it's definitely nice to be here.