MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis' repeated appearances on the injured list have not made the experiences any easier.
The more he's not on the field with the Minnesota Twins, the more frustration he has felt.
“I'm tired of being the guy on the IL,” Lewis said. “Seems like these injury bugs, they just stick on one guy for awhile. Hopefully I got mine off.”
His latest absence behind him, Lewis rejoined the Twins on Tuesday for the beginning of a three-game series against Baltimore. After missing the first 35 games of the season because of a moderate strain of his left hamstring that occurred while running out a ground ball in spring training, Lewis was back in the lineup batting fifth as the designated hitter.
“I’ve just got to play a little bit smarter. That’s what some of these other guys I’ve seen play the game at a high level do to be able to play 162,” said Lewis, who appeared in his 153rd regular-season game since his debut three years ago. “If I was Bobby Witt's speed I think I’d run a lot, but I’m not there anymore with all the injuries, so it’s just play smart, man, and let me get in the box, because that’s where I have my most fun.”
The Twins, who also got multi-position player Willi Castro back on Tuesday from a strained right oblique muscle that cost him 16 games, have been lacking the hitting punch and general spunk that Lewis typically provides. They lost 15 of their first 22 games.
“I just feel like I have a lot of fun in life. I take every moment and cherish it. I don’t take it for granted, and this is just another day, another beautiful day,” Lewis said, likening the sunny 81-degree afternoon to the weather in his native Southern California. “It’s just a perfect time. If feels like opening day for me, and I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
The first overall pick in the 2017 draft was limited to 82 games last season by a severe quadriceps strain he suffered running the bases in the opener and later a groin injury. The previous two years for Lewis were tainted by recoveries from successive ACL repair surgeries.
Each time he has returned, he has made an immediate impact on the lineup.
“You always expect he is going to come out and do something,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “When the lights turn on, he wants to play.”
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FILE - Minnesota Twins' Royce Lewis celebrates his three-run home run as he runs the bases during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Sept. 1, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn, file)
FILE - Minnesota Twins' Royce Lewis reacts after being called out on strikes on a clock violation during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
