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Byron Buxton

Latest On Byron Buxton

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In a Twins lineup loaded with power hitters, center fielder Byron Buxton can get lost in the shuffle. Buxton’s nevertheless a valuable member of the reigning AL Central champions’ roster, though, and after undergoing left shoulder surgery last September, he’s recovering well, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports.

The 26-year-old Buxton received medical clearance this week to swing a bat again and could be ready to face live pitching by the time the Twins’ full-squad workouts begin Feb. 17. That’s yet another bit of encouraging for the Twins, who won 101 games a season ago and, after they struck a deal with star third baseman Josh Donaldson, appear very likely to open 2020 as the favorites in their division.

Buxton’s known to play the field with reckless abandon, which helped lead to injuries that limited him to a meager 87 games and 295 plate appearances last year. Despite an abbreviated campaign, he was an important part of Minnesota’s superb effort. The former No. 2 overall pick managed 2.7 fWAR, hit .262/.314/.513 with 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases, and posted 10 Defensive Runs Saved, a plus-8.7 Ultimate Zone Rating and 12 Outs Above Average in center. None of that production is easily replaceable, and if Buxton’s healthy enough to start 2020 in the Twins’ outfield, it’ll make an already strong team even better.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the American League’s settlements in this post and split off a separate one for NL settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • Newly acquired Angels righty Dylan Bundy receives a $5MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). He had projected at a $5.7MM price tag. Teammate Hansel Robles gets $3.85MM, per Heyman, just shy of his $4MM projection.
  • The Yankees have worked out deals with all of their eligible players. The team has a hefty $8.5MM pact with Aaron Judge, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Backstop Gary Sanchez settled for $5MM, per Feinsand (via Twitter). The New York org will pay righty Luis Cessa $895K and Jonathan Holder $750K, Murray reports (Twitter links). Fellow reliever Tommy Kahnle will earn $2.65MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). And star lefty James Paxton has settled at $12.5MM, Heyman adds via Twitter. Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery have also agreed to terms, the former at $1.275MM and the latter at $805K, per Heyman (Twitter links).
  • The Twins announced that they struck deals with Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. Jon Heyman of MLB Network followed up with salary terms (all links to Twitter). May earns $2,205,000; Rogers takes home $4.45MM; Rosario lands at $7.75MM; and Buxton receives $3.075MM. While the first and last of those land rather close to the projected amount, Rogers got $550K more and Rosario got $1.15MM less than the calculators predicted.
  • Shortstop Carlos Correa settled with the Astros for $8MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Righty Brad Peacock lands at a $3.9MM salary, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The former went for more than his $7.4MM projection, while the latter ended up shy of the $4.6MM mark produced by the computers. The ’Stros also have agreed with closer Roberto Osuna as well, per an announcement. It’s a $10MM deal, slotting in just $200K shy of his projection, per Rome (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have a deal with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. It’s for $4.75MM, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter), well south of the $5.7MM projection.
  • Outfielder Jorge Soler has agreed to a $7.3MM deal with the Royals, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That’s well off of the $11.2MM that MLBTR’s model projected, though it is likely that the cause of the gulf lies in the interpretation of the correct baseline to start from in building Soler’s salary. He’s in the 4+ service class but had been playing on the original deal he signed out of Cuba.
  • The Tigers have a deal in place with southpaw Matthew Boyd, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $5.3MM, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). That falls comfortably below the $6.4MM, suggesting that Boyd’s camp was concerned with the way his suboptimal ERA would play in the arb process. Fellow lefty starter Daniel Norris will earn $2.96MM, McCosky tweets.

Earlier Settlements

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AL Central Notes: Matheny, Twins, Indians

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October 16 is an important date in the histories of the Royals and White Sox, as the two teams each clinched the American League pennant on this day back in 1985 and 2005, respectively.  Kansas City recorded a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays in Game Seven of the 1985 ALCS, completing the comeback after being down 3-1 in the series and winning the second AL pennant in club history.  The Royals went on to take the further step of capturing the franchise’s first World Series that came October, topping the Cardinals in another seven-game set.  The 2005 ALCS was also Chicago’s first step en route to a World Series title, as the White Sox beat the Angels in five games before sweeping the Astros in the Fall Classic.  2005 ended a pair of long droughts for the White Sox, as it marked the club’s first pennant since 1959 and its first World Series title since 1917.

News from around the AL Central…

  • The Giants, Padres, and Mets have all shown some interest in Royals special advisor Mike Matheny as a possible candidate to fill their managerial vacancies, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes.  Matheny hasn’t been linked to any of those clubs for an interview, however, and “word has it that the Padres are going another direction,” Flanagan writes.  [UPDATE: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants hadn’t spoken to Matheny as of three days ago.]  All three of those teams have already amassed a long list of candidates for interviews, as you can follow via MLB Trade Rumors’ central post for the many rumors and reports floating around concerning the offseason managerial carousel.  Matheny has also been widely tabbed as the leading contender to be the Royals’ next manager, and while Flanagan notes that Matheny’s hiring is “not as certain as it once was,” the former Cardinals skipper still appears to be “the odds-on favorite” for the job.
  • Byron Buxton stands out as a prime extension candidate this offseason, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park opines, looking at the Twins’ model in extending Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco last spring.  Both of those players were coming off solid but not surefire breakout seasons (Polanco’s year was also marred by an 80-game PED suspension) in 2018, while Buxton is similarly coming off something of a mixed 2019 campaign.  He hit .262/.314/.513 with 10 homers in 295 PA while contributing excellent baserunning and center field defense, though Buxton’s year was marred by injuries, including season-ending shoulder surgery that could cause him to miss the start of Spring Training.  With this health uncertainty in mind, Buxton could have interest in locking in a long-term payday, though he would be foregoing potentially big arbitration raises in both 2021 and 2022 (Buxton has three arb years left as a Super Two player).  Buxton has also achieved some financial security already, with close to $9.5MM in career earnings that includes his $6MM signing bonus as the second overall pick of the 2021 draft.  Beyond Buxton, Park figures Jose Berrios and Miguel Sano are also extension candidates.
  • Assuming the Indians are no longer cutting costs, the Athletic’s Zack Meisel (subscription required) estimates that the Tribe could have roughly $17MM to spend this winter.  The current payroll sits at $102MM, as Meisel calculates based on current salaries, some minimum contracts, and MLBTR’s projected salaries for Cleveland’s arbitration-eligible players (with a few non-tender candidates not counted).  That leaves the Tribe short of their $119.5MM Opening Day payroll from 2019, giving the club some extra cash to pursue needed help in the infield and outfield.  Meisel also guesses the Indians could look into some future payroll certainty by discussing extensions with Mike Clevinger and/or Shane Bieber.

Byron Buxton To Undergo Labrum Surgery

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Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is undergoing surgery to fix his left (non-throwing) shoulder labrum, skipper Rocco Baldelli told reporters including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). That’ll obviously end his 2019 season.

It had emerged earlier today that some kind of surgical outcome was likely. But this still represents a major development in the situation. Precise details of Buxton’s procedure remain unknown — and will depend upon what’s found by surgeons — but the baseline expectation is of a five-to-six-month recovery process. (Via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, on Twitter.)

Spring Training will begin in mid-February of 2020. That’ll be right at the six-month mark from today’s procedure. Depending upon the severity of the damage, extent of the work, and course of rehab, it seems Buxton’s full availability at the outset of camp is possible but hardly assured.

The Twins will be gathering information on Buxton’s progress and outlook throughout the rehab process. But the club is going to have to account for the uncertainty in some manner. Just how it might impact the offseason decisionmaking remains to be seen.

As we examined further in the above-linked story, this news will force the Twins into a sub-optimal outfield alignment down the stretch and into the postseason. It takes a player out of the mix who had been playing at a 5 to 6 WAR full-season pace. Looking forward, Buxton’s limited playing time will limit his ability to secure a big raise on top of his current salary of $1.75MM, though his strong offensive numbers will certainly support a bump. A Super Two qualifier this year, Buxton remains eligible to go through the arb process three more times.

Baldelli: Twins “Bracing” For Possibility That Buxton Won’t Return In 2019

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12:55pm: It “sounds like” Buxton is slated to undergo surgery this afternoon, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North 1500 AM.

12:25pm: The Twins have been playing without Byron Buxton in a full-time capacity since Aug. 1 thanks to a shoulder injury, and manager Rocco Baldelli indicated today on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that the organization is “bracing” for the news that Buxton won’t return in 2019 (Twitter link, with audio).

“Surgery is an option here,” said Baldelli after relaying that Buxton saw a specialist in California this week. “We’re basically sitting down and bracing for the realization that this could be his season ending right now. We basically are going to see what it looks like going forward. ’Buck’ is an enormous part of what we do here. The contributions he makes on the field are fantastic, obviously — he’s one of the best defenders in the world. That being said, the energy he brings and the lift that he brings to the team is also huge.”

Buxton indeed ranks as one of the premier defenders in the sport, regardless of position. His 10 Defensive Runs Saved rank sixth among Major League center fielders despite having played fewer innings than anyone ahead of him, and his overall Ultimate Zone Rating (+8.8) ranks 10th among all fielders at any position. He also places fourth in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric (+12) despite fewer chances than the three players ahead of him: Victor Robles, Kevin Kiermaier and Lorenzo Cain. Of course, the reckless abandon with which Buxton plays the outfield both contributes to his penchant for rangy, highlight-reel plays and puts him at greater risk for injury; his current shoulder subluxation was sustained when crashing into the center field wall at Marlins Park more than a month ago.

Beyond his defensive prowess, Buxton has enjoyed some pronounced improvement at the plate. In 295 plate appearances, he’s turned in a .262/.313/.513 slash with 10 home runs, 30 doubles, four triples and 14 stolen bases (in 17 attempts). Buxton’s speed has allowed him to rack up more doubles than singles (27) on the season, and his 23.1 percent strikeout rate is down nearly seven percent from a season ago. In all, he’s been worth 2.7 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs, and 3.2 WAR, per Baseball-Reference, in less than a half season’s worth of plate appearances. Needless to say, his loss absence has been profoundly felt by the Twins.

If Buxton is indeed lost for the year, Baldelli suggests that Max Kepler will continue to man center field on a regular basis for Minnesota. That’s a drop-off from a defensive standpoint, but perhaps not to the extent one would think. Kepler has been strong in center himself this season (+4 DRS, +3.1 UZR in 452 innings), and he’s tied for 13th among 93 qualified outfielders with seven outs above average, per Statcast. Losing Buxton fotr the balance of the 2019 season and postseason would likely mean mixing and matching with Jake Cave, Marwin Gonzalez and LaMonte Wade Jr. in right field, with Eddie Rosario continuing as the primary left fielder.

Buxton’s bounceback season at the dish will surely benefit him in arbitration this winter, when he’ll be due for a raise on this year’s $1.75MM salary. However, his general lack of plate appearances and another season truncated by injury will also prevent him from maximizing his earnings in that process. The Twins control Buxton through the 2022 season.

Quick Hits: Astros, Correa, Suzuki, Haniger, Buxton

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The Astros will move forward with a four-man rotation for the remaining 18 games of the season, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Between Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, and Wade Miley, Houston’s club features perhaps the most formidable rotation in baseball, and the team will start gearing up for postseason play by trotting out what projects to be its playoff rotation. As McTaggart notes, the schedule lines up such that the fifth spot in the rotation will only come up twice more, leaving each of the Stros’ four starters to make four more appearances while manager A.J. Hinch will have to patch together two bullpen days. Meanwhile, lefty Framber Valdez will pitch out of the bullpen for the last few weeks of the year. The young lefty has toggled between the rotation and the bullpen throughout the year, and results have been decidedly better as a reliever: he’s posted a 3.90 ERA out of the bullpen, compared to an unsightly 7.07 mark as a starter.

Here are some other notes from around the baseball landscape…

  • Also from Houston, injured Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, currently on the injured list experiencing back soreness, took batting practice at Minute Maid Park today, tweets McTaggart—the first time he’s done so since the injury. He also took ground balls on the field, indicating that the 24-year-old could embark on a rehab assignment in the next few days. However, it’s worth mentioning that the Astros’ two active minor-league affiliates could be eliminated from postseason play before Correa can join them, in which case the star shortstop would have to settle for live batting practice. All things considered, it’s a positive sign that one of the team’s cornerstones could return in time for the postseason.
  • Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki underwent an MRI Sunday morning after feeling some discomfort in his right elbow last night, per the Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. In a later update, Dougherty tweets that the MRI showed nothing more than inflammation in the elbow, leaving Suzuki day-to-day. Presumably, Suzuki will be good to go for the beginning of the Nats’ series in Minnesota. Suzuki missed Sunday’s series finale against the Braves and he will enjoy an off day Monday before kicking off a series against the Twins on Tuesday. Suzuki, who’s slugged 16 home runs this year, has combined with the Yan Gomes to form a solid catching duo for the playoff-hopeful Nationals. It seems that the Nationals got the best possible news regarding Suzuki’s elbow, which shouldn’t necessitate an extended absence for the veteran.
  • The chances of Mariners star outfielder Mitch Haniger returning this season look to be fading, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. The 28-year-old received a second opinion on his strained lower back, which set back his recovery from a ruptured testicle suffered earlier this year. Those injuries have limited the All-Star to just 63 games this year, a number that likely won’t budge after that second opinion yielded no new information. It seems that at this point, there would need to be a unexpected breakthrough in order for Haniger to see the field again in 2019.
  • Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, who hasn’t made a plate appearance since August 1 thanks to a left shoulder injury, may not hit again this season, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters including Dan Hayes of the Athletic. The oft-injured outfielder is set to travel to California to visit a shoulder specialist. While we’ll have to wait and see what comes of that, Buxton may be henceforth limited to a role as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive substitute. It’s an unfortunate development given Buxton’s progress as a hitter: in 2019, he’s enjoyed the best offensive season of his career, slashing .262/.314/.513 with ten home runs in just 87 games.

 

AL Injury Notes: Buxton, Price, Laureano, Pence

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Out since Aug. 2 with a left shoulder subluxation, center fielder Byron Buxton still isn’t ready to rejoin the Twins’ roster, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Buxton is coming back to the Twins, but only because his rehab assignment hit a snag. He has been dealing with discomfort in his shoulder this week, though an MRI didn’t reveal any new inflammation, per Hayes. “We’re still optimistic that he’s still going to help this team at some point before the season’s end,” said general manager Thad Levine, who added he’s “very confident” Buxton will slot back into the Twins’ lineup this year. While Buxton has been on the IL three times in 2019, he has nonetheless managed 2.8 fWAR in 295 plate appearances, thereby helping Minnesota to a three-game lead in the American League Central.

  • Red Sox southpaw David Price “believes” he’ll come off the IL to rejoin this weekend in Anaheim, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. A TFCC cyst in Price’s left wrist has kept him from pitching in the majors since Aug. 4, which was a particularly forgettable start for the 34-year-old. Price gave up seven earned in 2 2/3 innings against the Yankees then, raising his 2019 ERA from 3.86 to 4.36 in one fell swoop. The hurler’s other numbers are much better, however, as he owns a 3.64 FIP with 10.77 K/9 and 2.65 BB/9 across 105 1/3 innings.
  • Athletics center fielder Ramon Laureano has been on the shelf since July 29 with a shin injury, though it’s possible he’ll return without embarking on a rehab assignment, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Laureano has been racking up at-bats at the A’s minor league complex, and he could rejoin the team this weekend or during an upcoming homestand that starts next Tuesday, Slusser suggests. Oakland has done well without Laureano, evidenced by the fact that it holds the AL’s second wild-card spot, but he has been one of the drivers of its success this season. The 25-year-old has slashed .284/.334/.518 with 21 homers, 12 steals and 3.0 fWAR through 419 trips to the plate.
  • The Rangers placed outfielder Hunter Pence on the IL on Tuesday (retroactive to Aug. 24) with a lower back strain, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The club recalled infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. It’s the second IL placement of the season for Pence, who missed a few weeks earlier in the summer on account of a groin strain. Injuries aside, this season has been a resounding success for the 36-year-old Pence, who earned his fourth All-Star appearance last month. After back-to-back woeful campaigns with the Giants, Pence took a minor league contract with the Rangers in the offseason and has since logged a stout .297/.358/.552 line and smacked 18 home runs in 316 plate appearances.

AL Notes: Encarnacion, Gallo, Buxton

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The Yankees dropped a 2-1 decision to the Dodgers in L.A. on Saturday, but the game wasn’t without one historic highlight for New York fans. Aaron Judge’s solo home run in the fourth inning was the club’s 58th dinger in August–tying the record for most team home runs in a single month. Judge’s homer put the club even with the 1987 Orioles, who hit 58 home runs in 28 games, and the 1999 Mariners, who accomplished this feat in 27 games. The Yankees, of course, have only played 23 games so far this month and will have six more August games to carve out a singular place in the power-hitting record books.

Their chances of doing so would be much aided by the return of slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who has been out of action since fracturing his wrist on Aug. 3. As it turns out, Encarnacion has at least resumed some baseball activity, as James Wagner of the New York Times relays that the 1B/DH has begun taking ground balls and hitting off a tee (link). It’s obviously doubtful that Encarnacion will get back before September, but his return could just as well power another historic Bronx power binge in the season’s final month.

More from around the American League…

  • T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com has several updates on injured Rangers players (link). In summary: Jesse Chavez may need season-ending elbow surgery, outfielder Hunter Pence will be sidelined for a few days with a back ailment, and, most notably, outfielder Joey Gallo is swinging a bat again in recovery from surgery to repair a broken hamate bone. “This is a tolerance thing,” manager Chris Woodward said. “If the pain is causing his swing to be off, I’m not going to play him. But he needs to play and finish the season, more for him than for us.” Gallo was experiencing his best season in the bigs before being waylaid by injury, as he increased his BB% to an Olympian 17.5% rate in 2019 en route to a .253/.389/.598 batting line (145 wRC+) through 70 games.
  • Darren Wolfson of KSTP reports that Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton is set to head out on a rehab assignment, according to manager Rocco Baldelli (link). Buxton will report to the Cedar Rapids Kernels, a Midwest League affiliate with a strong case for the award for “Best Minor League Team Name”. There, Buxton will work to shake off rust resulting from his nearly month-long absence due to shoulder issues. At 77-51, the Twins sit 2.5 games up on the Indians for pole position in the AL Central, and the club would certainly benefit from the reintegration of both Buxton’s defense (10 DRS in 2019) and bat (110 wRC+ in 295 at-bats this year).

Central Notes: Brewers, Kang, Twins, Buxton, Royals

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The latest from baseball’s Central divisions…

  • The Brewers have shown interest in signing free-agent infielder Jung Ho Kang to a minor league contract, but it doesn’t appear an agreement will come together before the Triple-A season runs out. The two sides are “bogged down in visa issues,” according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It’s unclear what exactly is causing the problem, but Kang did miss almost all of the 2018 season while with the Pirates because he had difficulty securing a visa on the heels of a third DUI arrest in his homeland of South Korea. Kang returned last year, though, and then re-signed with the Pirates for a $3MM guarantee in November. It proved to be a poor investment for Pittsburgh, which released the 32-year-old Kang in early August after he hit .169/.222/.395 in 185 plate appearances.
  • More from Haudricourt, who tweets Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff still isn’t expected to rejoin the club before the middle of September. But Woodruff, who suffered an oblique injury July 21, is making progress. He moved his throwing program to 120 feet off flat ground Friday, which Haudricourt notes is the final step before he returns to the mound. The absence of Woodruff, who has unquestionably been the Brewers’ top starter this year, is an obvious reason why they’re drifting from NL Central and wild-card contention. The 26-year-old Woodruff has broken out with a 3.75 ERA/3.09 FIP and 10.4 K/9 against 2.22 BB/9 over 117 2/3 innings.
  • Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is nearing a rehab assignment, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com writes. Buxton hit the IL on Aug. 3 with a left shoulder subluxation – a product of the all-out effort with which he plays. The 25-year-old crashed into the outfield wall while trying to rob Milwaukee catcher Yasmani Grandal of an extra-base hit. Unfortunately for Buxton, not only did he fail to come up with the ball, but he’ll end up missing at least a few weeks because of the attempt. Injuries have been an issue all summer for Buxton, who has gone on the IL three times since June. When healthy, though, this has been a highly productive season for Buxton, owner of a .262/.314/.513 line with 10 home runs, 14 stolen bases and 2.6 fWAR in 295 plate appearances.
  • Royals southpaw Danny Duffy will begin a rehab stint at the Double-A level Sunday, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star relays. A left hamstring strain has kept Duffy out of action since Aug. 3, when Minnesota lit him up for nine runs (eight earned) and four homers across 4 2/3 innings. This has been the second disappointing season in a row for Duffy, who has only managed a 4.93 ERA/5.13 FIP in 100 1/3 frames.

Twins Place Buxton, Pineda On 10-Day IL

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The Twins have placed outfielder Byron Buxton and righty Michael Pineda on the 10-Day IL, the team reports. Buxton’s injury, the third that’s forced him to the IL this season, is a left shoulder subluxation, which is potentially serious and will likely sideline the former number two overall pick for at least a few weeks (per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park). Pineda strained his right triceps; the timetable for his return isn’t yet known, but the absence isn’t believed to be a lengthy one. 1B/DH C.J. Cron, reinstated from the IL, and outfielder Jake Cave were activated in their places.

It’s the latest in a series of early-career injuries for Buxton, who’d hoped to both shake the injury-prone label and deliver a productive season after a lost 2018 campaign. He’s at least cashed in on the latter, pairing a solid 110 wRC+ with his typically sensational center-field defense to post 2.6 fWAR in just 82 games for the division-leading Twins this season. The 25-year-old’s sliced his K rate to an easily-career-low 23.1% and made hard contact over 35% of the time, a near-eight percent jump from his previous career best of 27.6% in 2017. In his absence, the Twins’ll likely shift breakout star Max Kepler, 11th in MLB fWAR thus far, back to center, where he’s acquitted himself about as well as could be hoped over his young career, and have super-utilityman Marwin Gonzalez assume right-field duties.

Pineda, now 30 and no stranger himself to the DL/IL, has turned in yet another productive season for Minnesota, with identical 4.15 ERA/FIPs that, when adjusting for the suddenly-diminutive confines of Target Field, have been good for 2.0 fWAR in just 17 starts. The towering righty’s fastball velocity is down a bit this season, but still checks in at a respectable 92.6 MPH in this, the final year of a two-year, $10MM deal signed prior to the 2018 season. It’s unclear who’ll replace Pineda in the rotation – the team just sent down lefty Lewis Thorpe, and has needed only five starts from hurlers beyond the Opening-Day quintet of Pineda, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi, and Martin Perez.

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