The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated Byron Buxton from the injured list and optioned infielder/outfielder Austin Martin to Triple-A St. Paul. Buxton wound up missing exactly one month with a hip injury.
Trips to the IL are nothing new for Buxton — one of the most talented but also most frequently injured players in the sport. He was on a heater for the ages at the time he landed on the shelf, batting .331/.394/.709 (205 wRC+) with 13 homers, 15 doubles and a triple in 165 trips to the plate over his prior two months of action.
Buxton went on a minor league rehab assignment last week but had that stint shut down just prior to his expected return, when he experienced continued pain in his hip. He played in Triple-A games on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4 but hasn’t taken another minor league rep since. The Twins will hope he can round back into form on the fly, rejoining the big league roster amid a pivotal late stretch that’ll see them try to fend off the Red Sox, Mariners and sizzling Tigers. Minnesota holds a three-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot and four-game leads over Boston and Seattle. They’re a game and a half behind Kansas City for the second Wild Card position and six back of the Guardians in the AL Central.
Manager Rocco Baldelli acknowledged that at a different point of the season, perhaps the team might’ve taken more time, writes Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. However, that’s not a luxury the club necessarily feels it can afford on the heels of a recent slump while Buxton, Carlos Correa, Max Kepler, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack have all been out with injuries simultaneously. “There’s going to be urgency all the way through this,” Baldelli said. “We have to win.” Gleeman notes that Correa, who’s been taking live BP at Target Field this week, might not be far behind Buxton. He’s been out since July with plantar fasciitis in his foot but was in the midst of his best season as a Twin, hitting .308/.377/.520 with 13 homers in 317 plate appearances.
It’s also been a strong season all around for the 30-year-old Buxton, who’s hitting .275/.334/.528 in 90 games and 335 plate appearances. He’s scaled back his running on the bases in recent years in an effort to stay on the field more, but Buxton is still 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts in 2024. His center field defense remains a clear plus, though he’s likely no longer the game’s premier defensive player at his position.
The Twins are still strong favorites to reach the playoffs, but losing one-third of their starting line — including two of their three most talented hitters — and multiple starting pitchers has left them relying heavily on inexperienced talent down the stretch. That’s particularly true in the rotation, where rookies Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews have all asked to take on significant roles.
Minnesota certainly isn’t likely to take the division at this point, though the Twins do have one final four-game set with the Guardians remaining on the schedule. They’d need to execute a sweep on the road to make things truly interesting, but that series next week will merit close monitoring regardless, as it’ll have clear ramifications in an AL Central where Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota are all currently in line to reach the playoffs and where Detroit isn’t far behind. For now, the Twins host a sub-.500 Reds club for three games this weekend before traveling to Cleveland for those four games and then to Boston for a three-game set. They’ll wrap up the season with six-game homestand: three versus Miami and finally three versus Baltimore.
wjf010
why Martin? he gets on base. someone has to. why not Keirsey? now is not the time to evaluate a 27 year old suspect.
ForDoingNothing
Martin has been worth -8 OAA
Twins have struggled with defense lately
Keirsey provides speed and defensive value
RunDMC
Those games being played on mattresses with bumpers and swimmies to prevent boo-boos?
Bart Harley Jarvis
Stay healthy, Byron.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Buxton must have just flown in from Lourdes
Crash_n_burn
Kind of crazy how this is his 10th season in the big leagues and out of 10 seasons he played in over 100 games only once. Hope for the best going forward, but what are the odds he is healthier in his 30’s playing baseball then in his 20’s?
shortstop
Wow, if he plays in 3 more games, it will be the second most games he has ever played in a season. That is incredible.
rennick
I thought the same thing. Gotta get those three games in though. I’m rooting for him!
Tigers3232
I think he could easily be healthier in his 30s. I hate to say it because I love his style of play, but I kind of feel Buxton is a primadonna and a bit soft.
Most of his injuries are of the variety that can be played through. It’s not like he’s a huge dude carrying alot of weight on his frame and seemed he still could ve been a benefit to team playing through some of the various “strains” while DHing. Maybe as he ages and matures he ll develop more grit and put the team first.
dasit
one of the all-time “what might have been” players. thrilling to watch when healthy
JoeBrady
I’d love to see a 160-game season out of him. His stats are fantastic.
toptimrubies
Are his stats fantastic? .304 career OBP is pretty ugly.
Samuel
Hitting hasn’t been one of their issues.
Samuel
Sure looks like the Tigers will take the last playoff spot from the Twins.
Tigers3232
@Samuel I sure hope the Tigers get that last spot. At the very least it’s hard not to admire the grit these young players have showed this last month.
If they miss playoffs by a game it’s gonna b tough pill to swallow. That 13 inning game they lost to SD and the extra inning game a few days later they dropped could come back to haunt them.
All and all though a great year for the young players. They definitely seem to have taken a huge step forward. Sweeney looks like an excellent addition and hopefully next year is finally year they get back to perennial contenders.
raregokus
What alternate universe are you living in where the Tigers have ever been perennial contenders?
Tigers3232
Before being condescending why don’t you hone your reading comprehension skills…
I was talking about potentially in years to come with their current young core.
quonset point
Buxton
Bryant
Rendon
Trout
This site should save time and use a template
Samuel
…and they all get paid as if they were playing 140-150 games
a year while in the top 20 for MVP each year…..and so many
here complain about the cheap – and greedy – owners.
ohyeadam
He makes less than half of those players…
McNasty1
Rendon goes on the ‘I Don’t Give a S…” listing
Edp007
Trevor Story would like a seat at the round table
Troy Percival's iPad
May we all go on heaters like that at least once in our lives
Blackpink in the area
Mock trade
Twins get
Alec Burleson
Leonardo Bernal
Cardinals get
Willi Castro
Luke Keaschall
ohyeadam
This is even more lopsided for the cards than your last Castro Keaschall trade
Blackpink in the area
Burleson has 4 years of control left Castro has 1. And Bernal is a very good prospect. Pretty sure it’s fair.
ohyeadam
Burleson is similar to Kirilloff, career stats are very close. Does kirilloff have good value in your opinion?
Bernal is a 45 prospect according to MLB while Keaschall is a top 100
Blackpink in the area
Kiriloff is a non tender candidate he has injury problems and hasn’t been all that good when he’s been healthy. Burleson is clearly a better and safer bet long term. Similar players but Burleson is a clear upgrade.
Bernal is a good prospect. Yes Keaschall is worth more but Burleson is worth more than Castro. Twins need catching help starting in 2026. Crooks is a better prospect and maybe he could be had but it would require more. Perhaps Twins add Winokur.
ohyeadam
Cooks is higher in the rankings but has the same 45 rating as Bernal. Not sure if he brings much more trade value.
I’ve enjoyed debating your trades and hope theirs no hard feelings about our disagreements on player value.
Blackpink in the area
MLB needs to update those numbers. Crooks is coming off a terrific season he’s more than a 45 at this point for sure. Crooks is really exciting but Bernal isn’t far behind him both are good defenders. The Cardinals A ball and high A ball home parks are both tough places to hit.
People are meant to disagree. If they always agreed there wouldn’t be much to discuss.
CO Guardening
And that attitude shows why the Twins consistently play ever so slightly above average baseball.
CO Guardening
10 games and he makes it 100 games for the 2nd time in his career
McNasty1
Byron ‘Mr Glass’ Buxton will be back on the DL by this Saturday morning.
JoeBrady
I finally got smart. Instead of trading for him, I waited until he was waived and picked him up. It shouldn’t make any difference, but having him on the IL when I got him for free feels much better than if I had to pay for him.
Dude is a really good producer when he plays.
Dumpster Divin Theo
Overpay
Dumpster Divin Theo
Glass
Player to be named in the future 2
Breaking news: Buxton goes back on the DL 9/13/24.
Old York
Just in time for the playoff push. Should push them over the top and take the AL #1 spot.
ohyeadam
To all who say he’s overpaid. Check out FA contracts for CFs and OFs on spotrac. The man is a menace in both sides of the ball and paid accordingly
JoeBrady
So would you trade for him?
Blackpink in the area
I wouldn’t give up a lot but yeah I think he has positive trade value.
JoeBrady
I’ve pondered this for a few years for the RS, though it is pretty similar to Trout. He’s got the talent, but how do you plan around players who only play half a season?
Blackpink in the area
Similar and Trout is better but that contract for Buxton is a lot more affordable and Buxton is younger.
Like I was saying earlier about ONeill and the Red Sox you need good depth if you have guys like that. Red Sox have good outfield depth. Some teams don’t and on those teams I don’t think Buxton is a fit.
Mynameisnoname
Rocco is the perfect manager for the group as he was also an extremely talented, upper percentile athlete whose health failed him.
WhiteSx2024
Until he gets hurt next week an is out for the year
Ddubbl
why couldnt they have sent back Julienn. hes cost us 4 games with his shoddy defense. i hate that effer!!