Twins' Brooks Lee: Dealing with herniated disc in back
Rotowire
Lee has been diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back and is three weeks into a two-month rehab plan, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Lee initially went on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A St. Paul with what was described at the time as back spasms, but subsequent testing revealed a more serious injury. There is optimism that he'll be available to play later this season, but no timetable for his return to game action has been established. Lee had seemed like a pretty good bet to make his major-league debut in 2024, but that would appear to be very much in question now.
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Twins' Brooks Lee: Out 3-4 weeks with back injury
Rotowire
Saints manager Toby Gardenhire said Thursday that Lee will not join Triple-A St. Paul for 3-to-4 weeks as he gets treatment for back spasms, Patrick Borzi of MinnPost.com reports.
The 2022 first-round pick looked good this spring with a .963 OPS but suffered a back injury last week. It sounds like he won't be an option to be called up to the majors should a need arise until at least late April or early May.
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Twins' Brooks Lee: Sent to minor-league camp
Rotowire
The Twins reassigned Lee (back) to minor-league camp Friday.
The 2022 first-round pick looked good this spring with a .963 OPS, but he was never going to make the Opening Day roster. Lee will head to Triple-A St. Paul, and a 2024 big-league debut is still very likely.
Lee was removed from Thursday's Grapefruit League game versus the Nationals due to a lower-back spasm, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Lee grounded into a double play in his lone plate appearance before exiting. Consider the young infielder day-to-day for the time being. Lee is expected to begin the season at Triple-A St. Paul.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Lee will get reps at second base and third base in addition to shortstop this spring, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Virtually all of Lee's pro career at this point has been spent at shortstop, but with Carlos Correa holding down that spot with the big club and Royce Lewis pegged for third base, Lee's future might be at second base. If that move winds up happening, Edouard Julien could shift to first base and/or designated hitter. Lee, 23, slashed .275/.347/.461 with 16 home runs and 39 doubles over 125 games between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul in 2023.
The top-ranking prospect in the Twins' minor-league system, Lee earned the level jump after slashing .292/.365/.476 with 11 home runs, 31 doubles, 61 RBI, six stolen bases and 63 runs scored in 87 games this summer at Double-A Wichita. The fast-rising 22-year-old shortstop was the eighth overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly.
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Twins' Brooks Lee: Heating up at Double-A
Rotowire
Lee went 3-for-4 with a home run Wednesday for Double-A Wichita. He's hitting .344 with six home runs and a 1.047 OPS in 23 games since June 15.
Lee is hitting .289 with a .853 OPS and 10 home runs overall for Wichita. He had a slightly underwhelming start to the season (.269 with four home runs and a .772 OPS through June 6) for a player who was drafted eighth overall in 2022, but he's improved as the summer has heated up.
Twins' Brooks Lee: Can't hold hot start at Double-A
Rotowire
Lee is hitting .269 with four home runs and a .772 OPS at Double-A Wichita.
Lee began the season hot by hitting .323 with a .894 OPS through his first 23 games but has cooled by hitting .200 with a .617 OPS in his last 24 games. There's still plenty to like about his performance with good walk rates (10.3 percent) and strikeout rates (16.2 percent), but he hasn't been overly impressive. The 2022 first-round draft pick may need to add more power (four home runs, .429 slugging percentage) to become an elite prospect.
