Byron Buxton’s season has now officially ended the way it had been trending for weeks: with surgery.
The Twins announced Friday that Buxton underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his right hip, nearly three weeks after he was placed on the injured list for the third and final time this season. Dr. Christopher Larson performed a labral repair with decompression and a cam resection on the hip, and the team said Buxton was resting comfortably Friday night.
A week earlier, Buxton had said he was holding out hope for a return in 2027.
The hip problem wasn’t new, but it finally forced the issue this year. It first flared up in May and sent him off the field, though he later returned and played at an all-star level for a stretch.
Even so, the injury kept resurfacing. He landed back on the injured list in July, and between those three stints, he appeared in only 18 games after the All-Star break.
His last game came Aug. 25, when he aggravated the hip while bending down to field a ball in the outfield.
“I had those good days and bad days,” Buxton said last week. “I had a stretch where I’d go 4-for-8 and go, ‘I’m about to turn the page.’
Then, the next four days I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to turn the bat this at-bat.’ I just took it day by day.
We tried to manage it as best we could, keep the inflammation down. Honestly, I don’t know what else we could have done to prevent it from getting where it’s at.
We did the shot. Gave it rest.
Gave me a few years. I guess time just caught up to it.
The Twins also made another roster move Friday, placing fellow outfielder Trevor Larnach on the injured list before their game in Anaheim with a left wrist sprain. Larnach had already missed the previous four games because of the injury. To fill his spot, Minnesota recalled Alan Roden from Triple-A.
In Other News...
Twins Outfield Picture Just Got More Complicated At The Worst Time
With the Twins in the middle of a four-game set against the Angels, the outfield picture shifted again after Trevor Larnach was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. Minnesota responded by recalling Alan Roden from Triple-A St. Paul, a reminder of how quickly the margins can change this time of year, especially for a club trying to keep its lineup stable while the series plays out.
The timing is notable because Walker Jenkins has started to look much more like himself at the plate, piling up six hits and two home runs in the first two games against Los Angeles. For a Twins team already juggling results in the series, Jenkins surge offers a bright spot, but Larnachs absence only adds another layer of uncertainty to an outfield that has suddenly become a lot harder to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Larnach News Puts New Attention On A Twins Roster Move
The Twins roster shuffle this week put a new spotlight on the outfield mix, with Trevor Larnach landing on the Injured List and Alan Roden getting the call-up in his place. It was the kind of transaction that can ripple quickly through a club looking to keep its depth intact, especially when the organization is also watching how its upper-level players are performing day to day.
Across the system, the St. Paul Saints helped keep that conversation moving with a 4-3 win over Columbus, getting key contributions from Kalai Rosario and Jake Rucker. With player performances continuing to sort themselves out and another game on the schedule, Minnesota has a little more clarity in one area and a fresh question in another about how it will manage the outfield moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Jenkins Keeps Giving Twins Fans A Reason To Watch
Walker Jenkins gave Twins fans another reason to keep one eye on St. Paul, even as the Saints ran into a rough night against Columbus. The Saints were shut out 4-0 and mustered only four hits without drawing a walk, while Jack Anderson handled the start and lasted four innings before Columbus pushed across four runs.
Even with the loss, St. Paul remains tied with Memphis for the best overall record in the International League West Division at 82-66, so there is still plenty at stake in the stretch run. For Minnesota, though, the more interesting thread is Jenkins, whose presence has become part of the broader conversation around the organizations future and another reminder that there is reason to keep watching beyond the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]