Another year, another injury for MLBbro Byron Buxton.
Minnesota Twins fans had nightmare flashbacks when their former All-Star center fielder left the game with soreness in his right knee, aggravated by an attempted steal of second base.
Buxton would slow down midway through the attempted theft and was gunned down and had to leave the game.
This was not a good sign for a ball club who just had two key players in Carlos Correa and Jhoan Duran return to the lineup only to lose another.
Big Bux Is Always Hurt: Minnesota Not The Same Without Him
A recurring theme in his career, the MLBbro has often battled with injuries. Since he has been playing for the Twins in 2015, their record with him is 380-318.
The team is 317-371 without him, which shows how crucial he has been to overall team success during his tenure. Buxton’s issue has never been his play on the field, it’s the ability to be on the field consistently.
Manager Rocco Baldelli did not want to focus on the injury, having faith that it will be minor and not detrimental to Buxton’s overall health and long-term availability. The team got a much needed off day on Thursday which gave them time to get some imaging done on his knee.
Buxton signed a 7-year/ $100,000,000 contract with the Minnesota Twins back in 2021. It included a $1,000,000 signing bonus and $100,000,000 guaranteed.
The front office of the Twins would not be wrong to be somewhat frustrated with the Buxton experience. Last year the team went as far as to play him more often at DH to avoid injury chances, but still there was some damage done and as a result in October of last year he underwent a knee procedure.
To add literal insult to injury, MLB umpire Rob Drake was noticeably seen yelling at the MLBbro to get off the field after it was very apparent that he had been hurt.
This presumably led to Buxton declining comment after the game. Overall, this was a rough experience for not only the MLBbro, but the entire Twins’ fan base. Hopefully the knee injury is minor, and Buxton can return soon.
At the beginning of the season, MLBbro.com did a report covering the rising tensions concerning the Minnesota Twins and its fan base over the structured playing time of Byron Buxton.
While the fans were shortsighted over wanting to see one of the more dynamic superstars in Major League Baseball, the franchise’s big picture was to ensure that their superstar was healthy and somewhat fresh for a postseason run.
Our MLBbro didn’t make things easy by starting the season on a serious roll on the diamond. And he remained relatively healthy at first.
To recap the situation from earlier this season, the medical staff set up a schedule requiring him to take mandatory days off for rest and therapy for his knee. That included keeping him out of the designated hitter spot in the lineup. Considering the list of injuries that Buxton has suffered over the last couple of seasons (left thumb, both wrists, left big toe, left shoulder, right hip, migraines and a concussion), the Twins were committed to sticking to the plan.
The fans were concerned with the bottom line; when Byron Buxton is on the field, the Twins win games. When he is out of the lineup, Minnesota is a below .500 team with no star power to strike fear in opponents outside of Carlos Correa. In short, Byron Buxton is the best player on the field and when he’s present the Twins are an elevated bunch.
Even though the franchise made some strides with their season long plan with Buxton, who made his first All-Star squad and played the most games since 2017 (92), the right knee tendinitis was still a problem. The bottom started falling out last month when his knee forced him to the DH position in ten of the 14 games he played in August. Then on August 23rd, the Twins placed him on the 10-day injured list with a right hip strain.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli described the injury as serious and said caution would be taken going forward, via MLB.com.
“He had a few things go on (Monday where you could tell he was really feeling it,” Baldelli told MLB.com after Monday’s game. “Over the last few days, he’s been in a spot where he’s been on the verge of not being able to go out there, not being able to swing or run. But he’s continued to post up and continued to go out there and play at not a high percentage of what he can normally do physically.”
Right now the Twins need the MLBbro in any capacity. The Twins have fallen from the top of the AL Central standings to third place. With their current record of 69-70, Minnesota finds itself on the outside looking in for the third and final wild card spot.
For the Twins to be able to enjoy baseball in September into October, they need Buxton “Bro Bombing“ much like he was in June.
Even though Buxton hasn’t been cleared to ramp up baseball activities, Baldelli according to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic is holding out hope that he will return at the end of the season.
With reports that Buxton’s absence from the lineup will extend through the weekend to possibly next week, it is clear that the franchise is being extremely cautious with their best player. Everyone involved is hoping that this is not similar to the hip strain that kept him out for most of the 2021 season.
In any event, the season is slipping away along with the Twins’ playoff hopes. No matter when our MLBbro returns, if the Twins miss the playoffs, the early tension that started between the team and the fans over Buxton’s playing time and injuries will possibly rage in the offseason.
I’m sending a prayer out to the Baseball Gods: For the sake of the game, please keep Byron Buxton healthy!
This past Friday baseball fans faced one of their biggest recurring nightmares; Byron Buxton in agony after suffering yet another fluke injury, this time to his right knee on a routine slide to second base.
Buxton jogged out of the batter’s box after hitting what appeared to be an easy pop out to the shortstop, but the Boston afternoon sun had other plans as the entire left side of the Red Sox’ defense couldn’t locate the ball. Buxton sped up to stretch what should have been an easy out into a double and injured his knee on the slide.
He immediately slammed his fist into the infield dirt and began walking off the field, which if you have followed Buxton’s career you know it was a terrible sign.
According to the Twins, X-rays on Buxton’s right knee came back negative, and he is expected to return to the lineup sometime next weekend.
This news is great for baseball fans, but the scare is just the latest in what has been an injury riddled eight-year career for Buxton who signed a seven-year $100 million deal with the Twins in December of 2021.
Before this season Buxton had missed a total of 493 games with injuries. Year by year he has not been able to catch a break-from hurting himself on the basepaths or crashing into the outfield wall on defense.
Since 2015 Buxton has dealt with a sprained thumb, knee contusion, back spasms, groin strain, strained wrist, fractured toe, concussion, shoulder surgery, a foot sprain and last season a hamstring injury and hip issues that put an end to a MVP caliber start to the 2021 season.
Last April he won the American League Player of the Month award by posting a .426 batting average, eight home runs, 14 runs batted in, 15 runs scored, three steals and a .466 on base percentage.
Minnesota Twins outfielder and MLB Bro Byron Buxton had a sensational start to the regular season and capped it with the American League Player of the Month award for April. @thesportsgroove has the full story on https://t.co/d5pfLsCroDpic.twitter.com/5PsOZOamVZ
He was on pace to battle guys like Shohei Ohtani and Vlad Guerrero Jr. for the American League Most Valuable Player award before injuring himself trying to beat out a ground ball last May, a little less than 12 months since his latest injury.
Throughout the first eight games of this season Buxton appeared to already be in All-Star form. He already has three home runs and sports an OPS of 1.058.
The Twins franchise has been competitive over the last few years but they have a major postseason monkey on their backs. The team has lost 18 consecutive playoff games since 2002 when they defeated the Oakland A’s in the Divisional Round.
The team made major splashes this off-season and somewhat shocked the baseball world when they signed Carlos Correa and brought in a few pieces from the Yankees to help give Buxton some support in the lineup, but he is the spoon that’s going to have to stir their pot if they have any chance of taking the American League Central title from Tim Anderson and his White Sox.
Nick Gordon, brother of former Gold Glove winner Dee Strange-Gordon will take over center field for the Twins in Buxton’s absence.
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