The Twins are placing Byron Buxton on the injured list with a hip strain, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). Trevor Larnach will be added to the roster with an opportunity to make his Major League debut. Larnach was not on the 40-man roster, so to make room, the Twins designated Brandon Waddell for assignment.
This is a potentially devastating bit of news for the Twins, who are off to an 11-19 start despite tremendous production from Buxton. Buxton has long been an injury concern, but losing him now is particularly difficult. It’s a Grade 2 strain that will keep Buxton out for “weeks,” notes Miller. Buxton has been among the most explosive players in the game, slashing .370/.408/.772 with nine home runs in 98 plate appearances. He has put up 2.7 bWAR, 2.4 fWAR, and a 228 wRC+ in less than a month of playing time.
Jake Cave is in the lineup for Buxton in tonight’s game, but the Twins are likely to employ a dynamic outfield crew for the next couple of weeks. Larnach and Kyle Garlick will have their opportunities in the corners, but neither project as centerfield capable. Max Kepler may be called upon to captain the outfield in Buxton’s stead. Kepler has 134 games of centerfield experience throughout his career, though he appears there only twice in 2020.
Alex Kirilloff, meanwhile, received a cortisone injection in his wrist, but only time will tell when he is able to return, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press (via Twitter). Luis Arraez is more likely to help in the near term, as he appears close to returning after suffering a concussion, tweets Miller. Arraez could see time in the corner. Regardless, Cave and Kepler figure to be the Twins’ centerfielders until Buxton returns.
Buxton was destined to the IL at some point. Grade 2 strain means he will be out for at least a month
Sadly, yes, and Buxton’s history also suggests he recovers slowly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out 6-8 weeks.
Did he get hurt running into the wall trying to catch the hr that was 12 feet over the fence?
In fantasy land, which I do live in, Buxton will make a quick recovery (three weeks) and go on a tear (or should I say continue his tear) leading up to the all-star break, pulling the nearly last-place Twins back into the Wild Card race. Buxton will start the all-star game as a replacement player and win the all-star MVP. He will finish the year with an 8.0 WAR in about 120 games and just lose an MVP race to Mike Trout.
If by going on a tear you mean a torn hamstring, I’d put it at even odds
Wow, Begone Spenglerd (parody), don’t bogart that joint my friend!
@curly
“Pass it over to me!”
@Mrtwotone
“Again”!
Ahhhhhhh, the good old days
You mean lose to Shohei Ohtani?
Are you concussed?
There are 3 certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and Byron Buxton missing ay least 40 games a season.
That edges out birth?
I would say our experience of gravity should be pretty far up the list too.
=))
I think gravity will go away before Buxton plays a full season.
This guy is on the IL all the time. He’d fit in so well with the Mets!
The Mets seem destined to bid against themselves and massively overpay Buxton one day
That sucks, the man was on an MVP type trajectory.
Its may 7th. Lets play 80 before mvp talk. Buster posey, yermin mercedes, jesse winker, nick castellanos, randall grichuk, etc all are on similar trajectories.
Funny, I think the 60 game season last year has caused a lot of baseball fans to believe more in small sample sizes. If we took players 2020 performances seriously, this 30 game sample is about half of that.
I said trajectory. I didn’t say he was going to win nor did I think it was too likely. But you can’t deny how good he has been that’s all I was saying. There’s not many people who have been better and I was merely saying that it sucks that he got hurt because of the hot start.
Valid point regarding sample size, although Buxton was having a phenomenal year. Grichuk is having a nice year, at the upper end of his skill level, but even at that, .304/.341/.504 does not get him in the MVP discussion.
@lordd99
Exactly my point, otherworldly start for Buxton. Easily his best in his young, injury riddled career. Obviously the sample size is tiny, but can I not be excited for the guy or disappointed for twins fans? (Braves/royals fan so not a homer.) Besides, I enjoy talking about baseball (obviously) so it’s fun to have these way, way, too soon conversations.
“Buxton injured” and “news” don’t ever really belong in the same sentence.
Buxton is like Judge destined to spend a chunk of time on the DL.
Add George Springer to that group as well
Not too many guys in baseball with Buxton’s combination of talent and wow factor. I’m a White Sox fan but I’m still hoping for a quick recovery.
Speaking of, Buxton and Luis Robert have similar body types. These explosive, fast twitch, strong and lean body types just seem destined for plenty of IL time. Build some roster depth I guess is all you can do because they are awesome when available.
He is the ultimate “what if” player.
The IL bloodbath continues.
I LOLED! All these Injured ball players you’d think they were leaving the gladiatorial arena.
Buxton has only eclipsed 100 games once in his career, and has never had all-star numbers in a full campaign. People need to set some real expectations about him. If he’s what’s going to make or break your team, then you’re in serious trouble.
This news was as inevitable as it being 120 degrees in Texas in the summer.
Bummer! I’m a Cleveland fan, but still enjoy watching Buxton play.
Bux’ted.
Will Larnach hit the ground running?
With Byron Buxton’s poor health record, the Twins need to have a strong CF backup plan. Keon Broxton is in AAA St Paul but I don’t see any other promising CFs in the Twin;s system.
Buxton needs a healthy rest of season for his own stock but I want to see what this guy can do my gosh this is getting out control for him w injuries