Breaking News: A prominent Minnesota player was confirmed dead at the age of 27 following a battle with cancer. “A fantastic teammate”

With a right quad strain, third baseman Royce Lewis of the Minnesota Twins was placed on the 10-day injured list. Austin Martin, a rookie utility player, will replace him on the Twins’ roster.

Lewis was hurt while attempting to advance from first to third base after Carlos Correa hit a double in the third inning of the Twins’ 4-1 Opening Day victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, according to Dan Hayes of the Athletic. Lewis was replaced on the basepaths by Edouard Julien.

Lewis hit a solo home run in the first inning of the season and then added a single in the third.

Lewis, the first overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft, has played in 71 games and finished with 18 home runs, 58 RBI, and a.313 batting average (.933 OPS). According to Baseball-Reference, he has an average of 41 home runs and 132 RBI per 162 games.

Lewis has sadly sustained severe injuries that have prevented him from playing on the field most of the time, including two ruptured ACLs.

His most recent stint in IL is his fifth appearance on the list.

Martin is now getting his chance to play in the major leagues. The former Vanderbilt shortstop was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays as the fifth overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft. A year later, Toronto traded starting Jose Berrios to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Martin and pitcher Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Last season, Martin hit.263 (.791 OPS) with six home runs and 28 RBI in 59 games for Triple-A St. Paul.

At 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, the Twins resume their three-game road series against Kansas City.