The Twins are sending Byron Buxton back to the 10-day injured list, and this time the issue is the same right hip impingement that knocked him out of action last month.
Minnesota made the move after Buxton had not played since leaving last Tuesday’s game early because of hip discomfort. Outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez is up from Triple-A St. Paul in the corresponding roster move.
It’s the third trip to the IL this season for Buxton, and every one of them has been tied to his hip. The 32-year-old missed two weeks in mid-July with a right hip strain, then spent another two weeks on the shelf in early August with the first impingement.
On Friday, general manager Jeremy Zoll said offseason hip surgery was being considered as a way to address the problem. For now, it’s not clear how long Buxton will be out or whether this latest setback changes that surgery timeline.
The numbers tell the story of a season that started at a high level and has gone sideways since. Buxton owns a 129 wRC+ in 93 games overall, but nearly all of that damage came before the calendar flipped to July. Through July 5, he was hitting .271/.328/.575 with a 148 wRC+ in 335 plate appearances, and all 25 of his home runs came in that stretch.
The bigger concern is what’s happened since he first came off the IL on July 20. In 73 plate appearances since then, Buxton has managed only 11 hits, and his only extra-base hits have been two doubles. The power disappearing like that points to a hip that never really got right.
Minnesota will now be without him for at least two weeks as it keeps pushing toward an unlikely Wild Card run, or at minimum tries to finish around .500. For Buxton, the goals that once looked within reach are suddenly in real danger too: staying healthy and getting to the 100-game mark for just the fourth time in his 12 big league seasons.
In Other News...
Twins Face A Tough Walker Jenkins Question As Playoff Push Slips
As the Twins tried to keep their playoff push alive, one of the bigger organizational calls in August came down to Walker Jenkins and whether his bat should have been brought up from Triple-A. Jenkins was performing exceptionally well there, and the temptation to accelerate his arrival was obvious for a club looking for any edge it could find. Instead, Minnesota chose to keep him in the minors, with development and consistent playing time taking priority over an immediate jump to the majors.
The debate now is less about Jenkins talent than about timing, because the Twins did make other moves to try to improve the roster while the standings tightened. Still, leaving a premium prospect in Triple-A while the postseason chase got harder naturally invites second-guessing, especially when the lineup could have used another spark. It is the kind of decision that can look prudent in the long term and frustrating in the moment, which is exactly where this one sits for Minnesota. [Read more 🡒]
Walker Jenkins May Have Just Solved A Twins Outfield Problem
Walker Jenkins arrival gives the Twins a cleaner look in the outfield at a time when they could use one. Minnesota has promoted its top prospect, and the move immediately shifts Luke Keaschall out of center field, where the defensive growing pains have been obvious, and toward right field, where he has looked more comfortable. With Byron Buxton still day-to-day because of a hip issue, Jenkins has even stepped into center while the veteran gets a breather, giving the Twins a chance to reshuffle without forcing Keaschall into a job that has not fit well.
For Minnesota, the appeal goes beyond one temporary lineup card. Keaschalls bat remains part of the equation, but the Twins have been searching for a way to maximize him without exposing him in center, and Jenkins presence suddenly makes that easier to manage. Whether this is a short-term fix while Buxton heals or the beginning of a longer-term alignment, it is the kind of roster answer that can matter quickly for a team trying to keep its season moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Suddenly Have A Late-Game Problem They Can't Afford
The Twins have spent much of this stretch playing from behind, and the late innings have started to feel like the part of the game where their offense simply stops carrying over. Minnesota has lost four straight and slipped to a season-low eight games below .500, a slide that has left the club staring at postseason odds of just 5.0 percent. It is one thing to have a bad week in the standings, but it is another when the teams most troubling trend is becoming easier to spot by the inning.
Since the fifth, the Twins have not done enough damage against bullpens, with their late-game production lagging well behind league norms in slugging and home runs. That is a rough place to be for a lineup already operating without Byron Buxton, whose hip injury has taken an obvious bite out of the offense and whose return remains up in the air. For a team trying to stay in the race, the problem is not just scoring less, but running out of answers exactly when games tend to turn. [Read more 🡒]