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Quick Hits: Padres, Rule 5, Twins

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The San Diego Padres were busy this week in shaping their 40-man roster ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft. The release of former prospect Cory Spangenberg and Christian Villanueva’s transpacific journey to the Yomiuiri Giants prefaced further roster reshaping via a pair of minor-league swaps. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen reviews the prospects in those deals and others involved in swaps from this past week: Walker Lockett, Ignacio Feliz, Colten Brewer, Esteban Quiroz, Rowan Wick, Jason Vosler, Jordan Foley, Jefry Valdez and Tanner Anderson. While these moves appear minor, many of these players will have the opportunity to make an impact for pennant contenders next fall if they can impress their new gatekeepers in Cleveland, Colorado, New York, Boston and Chicago, respectively. Further Rule 5 news and more from around the league…

  • MLB.com picks intriguing candidates that could be selected from each team in December’s Rule 5 draft. Though it requires patience and a roster spot, the Rule 5 draft has been a viable resource in team building, especially for worst to first hopefuls who are closer to the former than the latter. Notably, the Cubs and Astros, two recent exemplars of roster renovation, each took advantage of the process by snatching players (Hector Rondon and Marwin Gonzalez, respectively) who made significant contributions to their title campaigns.
  • By the middle of last season, Twins’ chief baseball officer Derek Falvey was already preparing for the possibility that Joe Mauer might retire, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes (subscription link).  The Twins continue to explore every option at first base, including moving struggling slugger Miguel Sano from third to first. One path they are unlikely to traverse is trading for a one-year rental like Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt. The focus of the 2019 season in Minnesota will be as much about monitoring the rebound efforts of Sano and center fielder Byron Buxton as making a push for the playoffs, and with such uncertainty around their two high-ceiling stars, Falvey and company aren’t ready for an all-in move like trading for Arizona’s All-Star first baseman. Still, seeking a multi-year option at first base does not equate to youth, necessarily, as they are open to players like Carlos Santana or recently-DFAed C.J. Cron, each of whom would have two years of team control if acquired.
  • Elsewhere around the infield, the Twins are open to engaging Jorge Polanco’s positional flexibility as well. Polanco and Sano are currently penciled in at shortstop and third base, but that could change depending on their offseason acquisitions. For now, they are in the market for an offensive-minded second baseman, in which case Polanco would stay at short. There are more than a few viable short-term options on the free agent market to keep second base warm for prospect Nick Gordon, who was recently added to the 40-man roster. You can check out MLBTR’s full Offseason Outlook for the Twins here.
  • In the dugout, Bill Evers rounds out Rocco Baldelli’s staff as the major league catching coach. Evers, 64, is a 30-year coaching veteran with experience as a bench coach, manager, and minor-league field coordinator. He managed Baldelli when he was a player in Triple-A back in 2002, a relationship redolent of Alex Cora’s hiring of Ron Roenicke as his bench coach. Roenicke, too, managed his future helmsman when Cora was a prospect coming up in the Dodgers system.

AL Notes: Twins, McCullers, Rays, Zunino, Orioles

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Center fielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Miguel Sano were among the Twins’ best performers during their 2017 playoff season, but both players took massive steps backward during the team’s disappointing 2018 campaign. Now, the down seasons the pair endured are affecting the Twins’ offseason plans, Dan Hayes of The Athletic explains (subscription required). Had those two remained strong contributors last season, Minnesota would’ve been more willing to go “full speed ahead” this winter in an attempt to catch the AL Central rival Indians, Hayes writes. Instead, the Twins’ primary focus right now is to help those two bounce back in 2019. If Buxton and Sano do rebound, Twins ownership would give the team’s front office “the green light to take more of an aggressive step forward with this unit of players,” general manager Thad Levine said, adding he and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey “would feel much more emboldened to take that step forward.”

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Even though the Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. pitched in September and October, the right-hander tells Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (subscription required) that he was aware by then that he needed Tommy John surgery. McCullers revealed that he received the news when he met with surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Aug. 30, but the 25-year-old – with the blessing of ElAttrache and the Astros – put the procedure on hold until the offseason. While pitching through a partially torn UCL was “painful,” McCullers wasn’t going to make the injury worse by doing it, and he knew he’d miss 2019 no matter what. McCullers ended up going under the knife this past Tuesday, and is aiming for a spring 2020 return. Kaplan’s full piece is worth checking out for more from McCullers.
  • Catcher Mike Zunino, whom the Rays acquired from the Mariners on Thursday, looks like a solid addition from an on-field standpoint. The Rays also place a great deal of value on Zunino as a person, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, noting he should help fill the veteran leadership void left by free agents Sergio Romo and Carlos Gomez. Indeed, GM Erik Neander said that “[Zunino’s] somebody that we see that could take a leadership role with our group.’’ In terms of what Zunino provides as a defender, Neander offered a rave review, pointing to “how he navigates a staff, how he manages people, what kind of teammate he is, the care factor, the confidence that he is putting down the right fingers.”
  • Unsurprisingly, the Orioles won’t be big players in free agency, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com hears. However, Kubatko relays that they will prioritize adding infielders, likely on short-term deals. Assuming the rebuilding Orioles don’t contend in 2019, they could then try to trade those additions over the summer, Kubatko notes. Of the infield options currently on Baltimore’s 40-man roster (Chris Davis, Tim Beckham, Jonathan Villar, Renato Nunez, Breyvic Valera, Steve Wilkerson and Engelb Vielma), only Villar and Nunez offered passable major league production last season.

Quick Hits: Buxton, Upton, Nationals, A’s

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The Twins won’t be recalling Byron Buxton to the Major League roster, a decision that puts the team in line to gain an extra year of control over the young outfielder.  The situation has already created controversy, and there seems to be at least a chance that Buxton and his representatives at Jet Sports Management could look into filing a grievance with the league.  In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), agency owner B.B. Abbott said “We will examine this against the rights provided to all players under the CBA.  Until then, we will let Twins fans form their own opinions about this decision.”  MLBPA executive director Tony Clark also commented on Buxton, saying that the union “will review all options with Byron and his representatives.”

Minnesota GM Thad Levine did mention that the team was aware of Buxton’s service time circumstances, and Rosenthal is skeptical about the three larger factors (concerns about the wrist injury that sent Buxton to the DL, a lack of room in the Twins outfield, and “a performance standpoint factor“) that Levine cited as the chief reasons for Buxton remaining in Triple-A.  Buxton has not only been healthy enough to play regularly in Triple-A, Rosenthal observes, but the outfielder has also been hitting quite well in recent games.  Rosenthal wonders if the Twins’ desire to retain Buxton for an extra season will cost them in the long run, as Buxton may now be soured on signing a longer-term extension to remain in Minnesota beyond 2022.

Here’s more from around baseball on this Labor Day weekend…

  • Justin Upton suffered a concussion while avoiding a collision with Angels teammate Andrelton Simmons during Saturday’s game, the outfielder told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters.  Upton came out of the game and didn’t play on Sunday, as he’ll be out of action until his symptoms fully subside.  Upton’s first full season in a Halos uniform has been an impressive one, as the 31-year-old has 26 homers and a .265/.349/.467 slash line over 533 plate appearances.
  • The Nationals will activate right-hander Erick Fedde from the 60-day DL to start Tuesday’s game, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes.  Fedde has been sidelined with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, the latest in a series of injuries that has set back his young career.  Fedde has only 43 1/3 Major League innings to his name over 2017-18, though he’ll get a chance at showcasing himself in September.  As Zuckerman notes, the Nationals may use Gio Gonzalez’s former rotation spot to give starts to multiple young arms, including Fedde and possibly Joe Ross, who is on track to make his return from Tommy John surgery sometime this month.
  • With the Athletics rolling, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders why the team hasn’t extended manager Bob Melvin, who is only under contract through the 2019 season.  Failing to keep Melvin (or, for that matter, baseball operations head Billy Beane and GM David Forst) from “lame-duck status” in the final year of their deals threatens to undermine the progress that the A’s have made this season, Shea opines.  Back in June, the Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported that there some belief that the team’s upper management wouldn’t retain Beane, Forst, and/or Melvin beyond the end of their current contracts.  If this was ownership’s plan, however, one wonders if things have changed in the wake of the Athletics’ hot streak and return to contention.

AL Notes: Twins, Buxton, White Sox, Yankees, Boone

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The Twins won’t recall center fielder Byron Buxton from Triple-A Rochester this season, in part because the left wrist issue he has been dealing with throughout the summer is “still lingering,” general manager Thad Levine said Saturday (via Dan Hayes of The Athletic; subscription required). But the decision to not bring the 24-year-old Buxton back to the majors this season is likely more related to his service time, suggests Hayes, who notes they’re now in position to control him through 2022 instead of 2021. Levine did acknowledge the service time as a factor, saying: “We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t at least aware of service-time impacts on decisions we make.” Levine added Buxton’s agent is “displeased, disappointed for sure,” though the GM would like to “make amends” with Buxton at some point so as not to damage the sides’ relationship. At this time in 2017, Buxton was a cornerstone player for the playoff-bound Twins, potentially setting himself up for a lucrative extension.  A year later, he and the Twins have endured a year to forget. Injuries helped limit Buxton to a .156/.183/.200 line with no home runs and 28 strikeouts against three walks in 94 major league plate appearances. He was much better at Triple-A, hitting .272/.331/.456 with four HRs in 148 PAs, though he did post a 28.4 percent strikeout rate.

More from Minnesota and two other AL cities…

  • The White Sox have reinstated catcher Welington Castillo from the 10-day disabled list, putting him in position to play for the first time since May 23. Castillo landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation on Aug. 23, which came after he served an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Castillo, whom the White Sox signed to a two-year, $15MM contract last winter, began his season well before the suspension, as he hit .267/.309/.466 with six HRs in 123 PAs. While he was out, Chicago primarily turned to Omar Narvaez behind the plate, and he has quietly been among the game’s best offensive backstops this season (.284/.374/.432 in 264 PAs).
  • Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees manager Aaron Boone one game and issued  him an undisclosed fine stemming from his ejection on Friday, David Lennon of Newsday was among those to report. Boone, livid with home plate umpire Nic Lentz’s strike zone, was thrown out after a tirade in which the bill of his cap made contact with Lentz’s (video here). He’ll sit out Sunday’s game against Detroit, while bench coach Josh Bard will manage the Yankees.
  • With help from his family, just-acquired Twins catcher Chris Gimenez will decide in the offseason whether to continue his career, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press tweets. The 35-year-old journeyman has racked up 1,033 major league PAs since debuting in 2009, including 225 with Minnesota last season, though he has spent the majority of this season with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate.

Quick Hits: Gray, Hoffman, Mejia, Buxton

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The Rockies recalled Jon Gray tonight to start tonight’s game against the Mariners. Gray’s 5.77 ERA across 17 starts this season seemed like reasonable cause for a demotion, but it always seemed as though he wouldn’t spend too long in the minors. After all, he was striking out 29% of opposing hitters, and by measures of FIP (3.12), xFIP (2.82) and SIERA (3.19), he was having an absolutely fantastic season. As MLBTR’s Connor Byrne mentioned at the time, his .386 BABIP and 63.1% strand rate pointed to a horrific amount of bad luck. In two starts at the Triple-A level, Gray managed to strike out 13 batters in 10 2/3 innings while allowing four runs.

In a corresponding move, the Rockies optioned fellow young right-hander Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A. Also a former top prospect, Hoffman hasn’t managed to find his footing in the majors yet, and has allowed more than a run per inning on average while pitching out of the Rockies’ bullpen. He’s also walked more batters than he’s struck out, and spent time on the DL with a shoulder injury.

Here are some notable developments from around MLB…

  • The Indians have recalled Francisco Mejia to make a start at DH tonight against the Yankees; it’s his 2018 MLB debut. The young switch-hitter is not only universally believed to be the Tribe’s top prospect, but he’s also considered the best catching prospect in all of baseball. Unfortunately for him, he’s been blocked in the majors by a solid defensive tandem of Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, both of whom are signed to contracts that stretch a couple of years beyond 2018.
  • Another former top prospect, Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, can’t seem to catch a break this season. He’s apparently suffered a left wrist strain at Triple-A, and will head to the 7-day minor league disabled list (hat tip to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). After posting a horrific wRC+ of -3 (yes, negative), Buxton has put up a .219/.288/.356 batting line at Triple-A and will now have to wait at least another week before he has a chance to get on track.

Injury Updates: Syndergaard, Cueto, DeJong, Font, Buxton

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The Mets fell to 32-48 on Saturday and now own the National League’s worst record, but here’s a rare piece of good news for the woebegone club: Noah Syndergaard may be nearing a return. The team’s co-ace, who has been on the disabled list with a strained finger ligament since May 29, is scheduled to throw a simulated game in Port St. Lucie, Fla., during the upcoming week, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Syndergaard will be opposed by fellow injured starter Jason Vargas, who went on the DL last weekend because of a strained calf. If the outing goes well for both pitchers, each would figure to make at least one rehab start before returning, DiComo adds. In Syndergaard’s case, he could be auditioning for other teams upon his comeback, as the Mets are willing to listen to any offers that may come in for the prized 25-year-old prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Here’s more injury news from around the game:

  • Like Syndergaard, Giants front-line starter Johnny Cueto is on the cusp of a long-awaited return. Cueto, who last took the mound April 28, made a successful Double-A rehab start Friday as he works back from a right elbow sprain. Cueto will throw a bullpen session Monday, and the Giants will then decide whether to activate the 32-year-old or have him make another rehab start, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
  • Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong is on track to return to the team early in the upcoming week, Peter Baugh of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch relays. The power-hitting DeJong has been out since May 18 because of a fractured left hand, which has left shortstop to Greg Garcia and Yairo Munoz in St. Louis. Fortunately for the Cardinals, Garcia and Munoz have offered decent production in DeJong’s place. However, their output has fallen well short of the .260/.351/.473 line DeJong has posted in 171 plate appearances.
  • The Rays placed right-hander Wilmer Font on the 10-day disabled list and recalled fellow righty Hunter Wood from Triple-A on Saturday, according to Bill Chastain of MLB.com. The right lat injury Font suffered Friday is likely to keep him out for around eight weeks, manager Kevin Cash revealed. Font, whom the Rays acquired from the Athletics in late May, looked to be emerging as a find for Tampa Bay prior to the injury. The 28-year-old has made nine appearances (five starts) since the trade and logged a 1.67 ERA over 27 innings, though he has only managed 20 strikeouts against 11 walks. Now that Font’s on the shelf, the bullpen-heavy Rays are down to just two traditional starters – Blake Snell and Nathan Eovaldi.
  • Twins center fielder Byron Buxton has been out for a month because of a fractured left big toe, and there’s still no timetable for his return, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes. While Buxton’s making progress in his recovery, it’s possible he’ll stay in the minors beyond July 8 (when his rehab assignment ends), Bollinger explains. Even if Buxton’s healthy, the Twins don’t want to recall him until they’re confident he’ll be able to help them at the plate. With a miserable .156/.183/.200 line in 94 PAs, the 24-year-old Buxton has been a drain on Minnesota’s offense this season.

Twins Notes: Lewis, Santana, Deadline Plans

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J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register offers an interesting look at the dynamic between top Twins prospect Royce Lewis and special assistant to baseball operations Torii Hunter. It turns out that Hunter knew Lewis’s father for years, but had no idea his son was a baseball prodigy until after he was picked first overall by the Twins. In fact, neither Hunter nor the younger Lewis knew there was just one degree of separation between them in the form of the elder, William Lewis, who had Hunter’s personal cell phone number for years. Fast forward to now, and Hunter has his own relationship with Royce, the number one overall pick in the 2017 draft. In addition to baseball work, the two spent a week together at Hunter’s home in Dallas, where he reportedly gave Royce some tutoring and life skills advice.

More items concerning the Twins…

  • Ervin Santana’s post-surgery comeback continues to drag on slowly, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports. The 35-year-old righty failed to reach 90 MPH even once during his 45-pitch live batting practice session in Florida this week. He’d at least managed that velocity in a two-start rehab stint last month, but had to be shut down after those starts in order to rebuild arm strength. There’s currently not a clear timetable for Santana’s return, which is surely disappointing for a Twins organization that once expected to see him back as early as April 20th.
  • There’s uncertainty in the Twins organization as to whether they ought to be buyers or sellers at the July non-waiver trade deadline, writes Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. While the club certainly fancied themselves contenders amidst a mostly-weak AL Central division headed into the season, significant struggles of Jake Odorizzi, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton, along with the absence of Jorge Polanco and the aforementioned Santana are among the reasons that Minnesota currently sits in third place with a 33-39 record – seven games behind the division-leading Indians. “We’re in an interesting spot; we’re trying to figure out who we are and what we should be doing,” Levine said on the subject. “There are so many teams that are clear-cut sellers and a handful that are clear-cut buyers. We’re more inclined to be patient right now and utilize a little more of the runway we have.”
  • The Twins still haven’t signed their top draft pick, outfielder Trevor Larnach. Berardino points out that they’d be likely to sign him under slot considering they went a combined $717K over slot for their picks in rounds 4, 5, 9 and 10. Larnach’s slot comes with a value of $3.12MM.

Twins Put Buxton Back On DL With Fractured Toe, Halt Santana’s Rehab Program

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The Twins delivered some unfortunate injury news to reporters today, revealing that center fielder Byron Buxton is headed back to the disabled list due to his fractured big toe and that Ervin Santana’s rehab assignment has been halted due to ongoing discomfort in his surgically repaired finger (Twitter links via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com and Dan Hayes of The Athletic). Buxton will have his toe re-examined, while Santana will be examined by a specialist.

It’s been a dismal season for Buxton, who landed on the DL in mid-April for what the club hoped would be a minimal stay due to ongoing migraine issues. Instead, Buxton fouled a ball into his foot on his rehab assignment and sustained a fractured toe which has plagued him since.

Though a six-week timetable for the foot to heal completely was provided, the Twins made the surprising decision to activate Buxton from that DL trip without sending him on a minor league rehab assignment. 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweets that today’s decision to place Buxton back on the DL stems from the fact that he’s simply been in too much pain to use his lower half at the plate.

Overall, Buxton has turned in a brutal .159/.187/.205 slash this season, and he’s gone just 6-for-47 since coming off the disabled list and trying to play through the fractured toe. That, obviously, is a far cry from what looked to be a breakout year for Buxton in 2017, when he batted .253/.314/.413 with 16 homers and 29 steals while winning Gold Glove and Platinum Glove honors for his work in the outfield.

[Related: Updated Minnesota Twins depth chart]

With Buxton on the shelf, the Twins will have a number of options to handle center field duties. Ryan LaMarre is currently on the big league roster and can see some time at the position, though both of the Twins’ primary corner outfielders, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler, are also capable of playing center field.

The news on Santana is equally if not more disheartening for a Twins club that had hoped to get its primary rotation anchor back in the near future. The 35-year-old Santana underwent surgery on his middle finger in February and had been hopeful of returning at some point in May or in early June, but it seems he’ll now need a new wave of testing and could see his season debut delayed quite a bit further.

Since signing with the Twins on a four-year, $55MM deal, Santana has turned in 500 2/3 innings of 3.47 ERA ball. He was especially effective in 2016-17, logging a 3.32 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 (though fielding-independent metrics indicated that he had a fair bit of good fortune on his side over that span). With Santana now sidelined indefinitely, the Twins will continue to lean on Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and impressive rookie Fernando Romero in the rotation for the time being.

Injury Notes: Donaldson, Tropeano, Musgrove, Twins

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The Blue Jays announced tonight that third baseman Josh Donaldson will rejoin the club Thursday and is likely to be activated from the disabled list. A shoulder issue has kept the former AL MVP out of action since April 10, though he’s played in multiple minor league rehab games and appears to be back on track after experiencing some troubles throwing across the diamond earlier this season. The Jays have stayed afloat just fine in the absence of their best player, as they’re currently sporting a 17-13 record and right in the middle of the AL Wild Card mix a month into the season. Donaldson will have plenty riding on a healthy and productive return, as he’s set to hit free agency for the first time following the 2018 campaign.

Some other health-related notes from around the league…

  • Already being hit hard by the injury bug, the Angels took another punch on Wednesday, announcing that righty Nick Tropeano is headed to the 10-day DL with a shoulder issue. The good news for the Halos is that the injury appears minor, as Tropeano told reporters he’ll “100 percent” be ready to return after the 10-day minimum (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). As Tropeano explains, he’s not even planning to stop throwing and already played catch earlier today. The Angels, it seems, are merely acting with precaution after the righty felt some something slightly off in his shoulder.
  • Pirates righty Joe Musgrove threw 36 pitches in a rehab outing, writes Oliver Macklin of MLB.com, 29 of which went for strikes. Manager Clint Hurdle added that Musgrove threw his cutter, slider and changeup in the outing and demonstrated “firm” velocity on his fastball. Perhaps more notable is the fact that Hurdle confirmed that Musgrove will indeed be rejoining the Pirates’ rotation when he returns from the disabled list. That could be bad news for rookie Nick Kingham, who turned in one of the best debuts in recent MLB history when he flirted with a perfect game through more than six innings this past Sunday. Kingham is slated to start Friday for the Buccos, though Hurdle said in announcing that earlier this week that there was nothing guaranteed beyond that point. Speculatively speaking, right-hander Chad Kuhl has also struggled in 2018 (5.01 ERA, seven homers in 32 1/3 innings), so perhaps he could be bumped if Kingham impresses in his second big league start.
  • Byron Buxton has yet to progress to running since being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his toe, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. Buxton sustained the injury when he fouled a ball into his foot during a rehab game in Fort Myers as he was working his way back from a bout with ongoing migraine headaches. He’ll rejoin the club on Friday but won’t necessarily be activated from the DL, Bollinger notes, as the team is debating whether he needs another rehab stint now that he’s been off for several weeks due to the foot injury. Bollinger adds that righty Trevor May, recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery, tossed three innings and 46 pitches in an extended Spring Training game as he pushes his way toward readiness for a rehab assignment with the team’s Triple-A club.

Injury Notes: Buxton, Sano, Ervin, Knebel, Williamson

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Byron Buxton has a hairline fracture in his left toe, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports on Twitter. According to Hayes, the Twins hopes to have a better idea on his return timeline by the end of the homestand. As Hayes wrote previously, the team has missed Buxton while he’s been sidelined; seven of the club’s eight wins have come with the speedster patrolling center field. It’s worth noting, though, that while Buxton has played typically great defense in the outfield grass, he’s scuffled to a .195/.233/.244 batting line at the plate.

More injury notes from around the league…

  • Speaking of the Twins, Miguel Sano will sit out today’s game due to hamstring tightness (h/t Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Sano, who owns a .450 slugging percentage on the season with five homers and a 40% K rate, barely ran out a ground ball in his last at-bat during yesterday’s game. It’s unclear how long he’ll need to rest. Meanwhile, there’s a positive sign for the Twins: Ervin Santana is making progress and has already practiced throwing his change-up, according to Hayes. He’s reportedly close to throwing off a mound. The club will be anxiously awaiting his return, as their starters as a group sit in the bottom half of MLB in ERA and FIP and dead last in innings pitched.
  • Brewers closer Corey Knebel is very excited about his progress with his hamstring strain, Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. He’ll reportedly throw one more bullpen session before heading out on a rehab assignment. It seems likely that Knebel will be able to return by mid-May. Josh Hader, Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes have closed out games in his absence, collecting six saves; that group has combined for a sub-1.25 ERA on the season, so Knebel’s return will make for a truly formidable late-inning crew.
  • It looks as though Giants outfielder Mac Williamson will avoid the concussion DL, as manager Bruce Bochy expects him to start tomorrow (h/t Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic). There was a fear that Williamson might have suffered a concussion after a collision with the outfield wall on Tuesday, but the 27-year-old appears to have dodged any serious injury. Williamson already has three homers for San Francisco in just 19 plate appearances.

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