MINNEAPOLIS -- Amid the emotional highs and lows of the last several weeks for this extraordinarily streaky Twins squad, perhaps the biggest constant in the clubhouse was that, whenever the team would return home from a road trip, an increasingly agitated Royce Lewis always awaited them at Target Field, simply glad to feel like part of the team again.

On Friday, he was gone -- and that¡¯s because he¡¯s taking the final meaningful step toward being part of the team again, for real this time.

Lewis was slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday as he builds back into his first game action since he badly strained his right quad while running the bases on Opening Day in Kansas City on March 28. His return could potentially be a stabilizing factor for an up-and-down offense that has largely been responsible for the team¡¯s inconsistency.

¡°He's a difference-maker and a game-changer,¡± Carlos Correa said. ¡°The fact that we will get him back soon is exciting. Adding him to our lineup, it's going to boost the lineup in a big way. So I'm excited for him to just go out there, take it day by day, and go through his things, show everybody that he's ready, and then come back here and help us.¡±

Lewis was granted clearance to return to game action after he participated in a workout at Target Field on Friday, during which he ran the bases at full intensity with stopping, starting and sliding. He¡¯d already been hitting in the batting cages for several weeks before this final baserunning component fell into place.

The Twins did not specify how long of a rehab assignment Lewis would need, but it will start with a DH outing on Saturday for the Saints, who are on the road in Buffalo, N.Y. The rehab stint will continue on a ¡°day-to-day¡± basis, according to bench coach Jayce Tingler.

Though Tingler did note that Lewis has always rebounded from absences quickly from a performance standpoint, it also remains the case that Lewis has not participated in everyday game activity for nearly two months and will likely need time to rebuild his stamina.

¡°He's been wanting to play since last month,¡± Correa said. ¡°He's been wanting to get out there as soon as possible. But obviously, our trainers do a great job of keeping him patient and doing everything they need to do in order for him to be ready and 100 percent. Hopefully, when he comes back, he stays with us for the entire season.¡±

But don¡¯t try to tell Lewis about patience -- because he¡¯d grown increasingly upset with the slow pace of his buildup during his downtime, and has been pushing to return for weeks despite not having been medically cleared.

It¡¯s hard to blame him considering all the time he¡¯s missed over the years with various maladies -- the two torn ACLs from 2021 and ¡®22 and the oblique strain from ¡®23 -- and the momentous way in which he started ¡®24, with a homer and single in his first two plate appearances before he was, once again, felled by injury.

¡°I've always come back and played well, and I feel like I'm ready to go, especially if you give me the time to train, which we've had plenty of time to train, and it's been two weeks of full cages,¡± Lewis said on May 9. ¡°I feel more prepared than [in] spring. So I don't know how much time I would need to ramp up.¡±

Fortunately for Lewis and the up-and-down Twins, the wait is almost over -- and, at least this time, he will have real baseball games to help him count down the days.