The Minnesota Twins have reinstated All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton from the 10-day injured list. This decision comes ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. Buxton’s return is expected to bolster the Twins’ lineup as they face the Phillies tonight.
Result
Buxton missed 14 games with a right hip impingement, his second stint this season on the injured list. He played in seven games after the break before being sidelined again, but the 32-year-old who has frequently battled injuries throughout his career was batting second and playing center field on Thursday night. The first stay prevented him from playing in the All-Star Game.
Performance that shaped the outcome
He was batting .263 with 16 doubles, 25 home runs, 57 runs scored, 45 RBIs and an .864 OPS in 82 games this season before this latest injured list stint. Buxton brought his family to the game and played catch at the ballfield site where the 1989 movie was filmed with his 12-year-old son, Brixton, allowing for some additional reflection on his journey from rural Georgia to being the second overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Twins. He played in 2013 for their Class A affiliate in Cedar Rapids, about an hour’s drive south.
Because the guy’s a thoroughbred, “With Buck, there’s always going to be management, just.
He’s in a good spot,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We don’t want another setback,” Shelton said. “What Major League Baseball did to make this happen is pretty special,” Buxton said.
“He looks good. “We’re excited to have him back. He’s at top speed all of the time. Major League Baseball allowed a 27th player for the special site game, so the Twins didn’t have to make a corresponding roster move to make room for Buxton. “You bring that little kid back into somebody that maybe wasn’t having the best year or things wasn’t going their way and this could be that spark that could turn that corner to relive that passion for them again.
After heavy rain moved through the area earlier in the day, the Twins wanted to be extra careful with a potentially wet warning track before clearing their franchise player for action. Having an off day built into the series on Friday for travel to Minneapolis to play the remainder of the series at Target Field added some insurance to the plan.
