FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Royce Lewis will leave his first Major League camp not having taken the field, but he didn't let that get in the way of his long-awaited learning experience.

Lewis, the No. 5 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, was reassigned to Minor League Spring Training on Sunday, while recovering from a strained right oblique that has kept him out of action for two weeks. But in that time, Lewis still made the most of his opportunity to be around the veterans in Twins camp, and, in particular, special instructor Rod Carew.

"I couldn’t think of a better way for him to spend his time or use his time here in Major League camp than the way that he’s used it," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I mean that. It’s actually impressive and pretty sweet what has gone on. Despite the injury, it’s still gone very well."

At 19 years old, Lewis is the Twins' youngest invitee to Major League camp. He said he spent three straight games in the dugout next to Carew, the 18-time All-Star and Hall of Famer, who opened the young shortstop's eyes by talking him through nearly every pitch, and offering hitting insights.

"I wasn’t even looking at the game like that," Lewis said. "I was looking at it like just a normal fun game. There’s a lot more to it."

And perhaps a more controversial opinion in the modern game?

"That if I bunt, I’ll raise my batting average about 40 points," Lewis said, with a smile. "So I might bunt a little bit more this year."

After Lewis finished speaking with the media in Hammond Stadium's home clubhouse Sunday morning, 38-year-old Nelson Cruz immediately took the young shortstop aside to offer some parting guidance. Lewis was grateful to veterans like Cruz, Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron -- all of whom lockered in the corner of the Twins' clubhouse near Lewis -- for being readily available to answer his questions.

Though Lewis has been running and starting to take grounders on the back fields, the Twins are going to be conservative with their prized prospect's timeline, especially with Opening Day in the Minor Leagues still nearly a month away, on April 4.

Lewis could still return for Major League spring games before the end of camp, but Baldelli wants to first get the shortstop some playing experience on the Minor League side.

The Twins had previously reassigned several other top prospects -- Alex Kirilloff, Brent Rooker, Luke Raley and Ben Rortvedt -- to Minor League camp on Friday. Pitchers Andrew Vasquez, Lewis Thorpe and Kohl Stewart were also optioned to Triple-A Rochester at that time.

Baldelli meets Montoyo for first time as manager
Baldelli has leaned on many friends, colleagues and former coaches for help in his transition to the manager's office, but Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo might have been the mentor that the new Twins skipper turned to most while learning the ins and outs of the role.

"We know each other very well, and we’re able to have every kind of conversation that you can imagine," Baldelli said. "Those are the kinds of really quality relationships that help you through everything."

Montoyo was briefly Baldelli's manager in 2002 with the Class A Advanced Bakersfield Blaze before the pair later worked together on the Rays' coaching staff from 2015-18. Baldelli said he caught the tail end of the "soft, cutting" batting practice that Montoyo threw on Sunday, which was familiar to him from his playing days in Bakersfield.

"He’s a guy who wants the best for me personally, and I also want the best for him personally as well," Baldelli said. "I root for him every day."

Gonzalez good to go
Marwin Gonzalez, who has been dealing with mild soreness in his right shoulder, is expected to return to Minnesota's lineup and hit leadoff on Monday while playing third base. Baldelli said that Gonzalez was ready to play on Sunday, but they opted to give the veteran an extra day of rest.

Up next
Kyle Gibson will make his second Spring Training start when he takes the mound Monday for a 12:05 p.m. CT game against the Tigers at Hammond Stadium. Gibson, who is building strength after a bout of E. coli disrupted his conditioning in January, threw two shutout innings last Monday against the Orioles in his spring debut. Taylor Rogers, Blake Parker, Tim Collins, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey and Addison Reed are also expected to pitch.