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The Minnesota Twins put oft-injured infielder Royce Lewis on the injured list with what the club called “a severe quad strain” on Saturday, and the reigning AL Central champions are preparing to be without him for more than a month.

Lewis strained his right quad while rounding the bases Thursday on Opening Day against the Kansas City Royals. It is the fifth time the 2017 No. 1 draft pick has been put on the IL in just over two seasons as a big leaguer, which includes two torn ACLs in his right knee, an oblique injury and a hamstring injury.

“It’s significant enough he’s going to have some significant time down,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations. “It’s difficult, you know, not just because of Game 1, but because of how much work he’s put in, and how much time and effort. His offseason was great. I’ve never seen him in as good of shape as he’s in right now.

“So, these things happen,” Falvey said, “in all sports. And it’s really unfortunate. He prepared better than anybody.”

The 24-year-old Lewis, who had raised hopes in Minnesota of a breakthrough when he made it through spring training without any problems, has been exceptional when he has been healthy. He’s hit .313 with 18 homers and 58 RBIs in just 71 games.

In fact, Lewis homered in his first at-bat in the Twins’ 4-2 win over the Royals on Thursday. He singled again in the third inning, and he was rounding second on a double by Carlos Correa when he came up hobbling.

“I mean, you feel terrible for Royce having to deal with this after everything else he’s gone through. You feel bad for the team as well,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You know, we got three innings out of him. And it was a pretty amazing contribution. I mean, he was one of the biggest reasons we win the game, and then we find out we’re going to lose him for a while.”

The Twins called up Austin Martin, one of their top prospects, to provide some depth. But the immediate plan was to use Willi Castro, who was in the lineup Saturday, and Kyle Farmer to handle third base duties.

“I’m ready to go,” Martin said. “I’m looking forward to, you know, the day I’m able to get to touch the field and play. And like I’ve said, the goal here is to just try to help this team win as many games as it can.”

Martin has overcome a series of injuries, too. He’s had ligament injuries in each of his elbows the past two seasons.

“I haven’t done too much reflection,” said Martin, who hit .263 with six homers and 28 RBIs while spending most of last season at Triple-A St. Paul. “Just kind of been in the moment, trying to stay with that mindset on this.”

In other news, the Twins announced that right-hander Anthony DeSclafani underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his forearm and would miss the entire season. DeSclafani was expected to fill out the back of the rotation before he was diagnosed with a right elbow strain in March and placed on the 60-day IL before the season.

Falvey said that the recovery time for similar procedures is about 13 months.

“It’s not a Tommy John, so it’s a little different type of return,” Falvey said. “I think when he went there, we knew that was in consideration, and I think a lot of the conversation was around, is it the ligament or the UCL [in the elbow]. It ended up being the flexor tendon that needed to be repaired.”

Falvey said the Twins would look at internal options to fill out his spot in the rotation.

“I feel like we’ve got a group that we’re going to count on,” he said, “but we’ll always keep an eye open for new options, too.”

The Twins also signed right-hander Diego Castillo to a minor league contract on Saturday.

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Reds’ Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

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Reds' Miley denies wrongdoing in Skaggs case

Cincinnati Reds left-hander Wade Miley said Friday that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, one day after reports stated a deposition from a lawsuit alleged he supplied Tyler Skaggs with drugs when both players were with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The deposition is part of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Los Angeles Angels, requesting a lawsuit from the Skaggs family be dismissed.

The deposition from Ryan Hamill, Skaggs’ agent, contains testimony that he was concerned in 2013 about Skaggs’ drug use. Hamill said he and Skaggs’ family confronted Skaggs about his drug use. Skaggs was then in his second season as a teammate of Miley with the Diamondbacks.

“He came clean,” Hamill testified. “He said he had been using — I believe it was Percocets — and he said he got them through Wade Miley.”

Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, at age 27 in a Dallas-area hotel. The autopsy found fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system.

Miley briefly addressed the issue before Friday’s road game against the Detroit Tigers.

“I hate what happened to Tyler, it sucks. My thoughts are with his family and his friends,” Miley said. “But I’m not going to sit here and talk about things that someone might have said about me or whatnot. I was never a witness for any of this. I was never accused of any wrongdoing.”

Former Angels communications director Eric Kay is serving a 22-year prison sentence in Texas after being found guilty on two charges of providing drugs related on Skaggs’ overdose.

The Athletic reported that the criminal proceedings against Kay included a recorded phone conversation in which Kay told his mother that Miley was a drug source to Skaggs.

Asked if Major League Baseball has contacted him regarding the allegations, Miley said, “I’d rather just focus on the Cincinnati Reds right now and baseball and what I have to do moving forward. I’ve got to get ready for a game on Sunday.”

Miley was mentioned in Kay’s criminal case, but he was never charged with a crime.

Skaggs was traded to the Angels after the 2013 season. He went 28-38 with a 4.41 ERA in 96 career starts.

Miley, 38, is with his eighth big league team and attempting to revive his career after Tommy John surgery in 2024.

Miley has a career 109-99 mark with a 4.09 ERA in 319 games (311 starts) since making his major league debut in 2011. This is his second go-round with the Reds. He was with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, going 12-10 with a 3.55 ERA in 177⅓ innings over 34 starts (32 innings).

The Skaggs family is suing the Angels, contending that high-level team officials, as well as other employees, knew Kay was a drug user and should have known he was Skaggs’ source.

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

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Belmont Stakes to remain at Saratoga in 2026

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for a third consecutive year in 2026.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Racing Association announced Friday that it will be the third and last time the Triple Crown finale is held there before returning to Belmont Park on Long Island in 2027.

“Saratoga has served our fans and stakeholders extremely well as the temporary home of the Belmont Stakes during the construction of a new Belmont Park on Long Island,” NYRA president and CEO David O’Rourke said. “Belmont Park will always be the home of the Belmont Stakes and we look forward to its return to the newly reimagined Belmont in 2027.”

It was confirmation of an expected extension of the race’s stay at Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes nearly a half-billion dollar renovation project. It is on track to reopen in September 2026, with the Breeders’ Cup returning to New York at Belmont Park in the fall of 2027.

The Belmont will again be run at 1 1/4 miles instead of its traditional 1-1/2 mile distance that has been known as the “test of the champion.” That has been the case the past two years, as well, because of the configuration of the main dirt track.

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

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Rays get former top prospect Whitley from Astros

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired right-hander Forrest Whitley from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash considerations Friday.

Whitley, once a top-10 prospect in baseball, was designated for assignment by the Astros on Sunday.

Houston selected him with the No. 17 pick of the 2016 MLB draft out of high school in San Antonio and gave him a $3.148 million signing bonus, but he failed to reach expectations.

Now 27, he didn’t debut in Houston until the 2024 season and made three relief appearances, giving up no earned runs in 3⅓ innings.

This season, Whitley appeared in five games for Houston, with opponents scoring 10 earned runs on nine hits and six walks in 7⅓ innings. He has no decisions with a 12.27 ERA.

In 117 minor league appearances (65 starts) he had a 17-20 record with a 4.75 ERA over 306⅔ innings. He struck out 421 batters and walked 160.

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