How Long Will the Twins Leave Byron Buxton at Full-Time DH?

[Cody Christie]

Minnesota’s offense has been inconsistent to start the 2023 season, and one of the easiest offensive upgrades is to move Byron Buxton back to center field. How early will the Twins make this move? The answer is complicated.

Image courtesy of Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

One of the Twins’ biggest goals for 2023 is keeping Byron Buxton healthy and productive. Buxton’s injury history is well documented. Minnesota’s All-Star center fielder has only played over 100 games in one big-league season. His value to the Twins is undeniable, with 48 home runs in his last 162 games. There isn’t an easy solution to keeping Buxton on the field, but the Twins are attempting a different strategy to start the 2023 campaign. 

Buxton took a slow approach to prepare for the season during spring training. He got a lot of work on the back fields before appearing in his first game with the big-league club. Eventually, the Twins announced that Buxton would begin the year as the team’s full-time designated hitter. He is one of baseball’s best defensive center fielders, but he can’t play in the outfield when hurt. His bat has become so valuable that it hurts the team significantly when he can’t be in the lineup.  

The Twins traded for Michael A. Taylor this winter to have some insurance for Buxton in center field. Taylor is among a handful of players near Buxton’s level regarding defense in center field. At the time of the trade, it looked like a solid move to provide some Buxton insurance. Taylor isn’t an offensive threat, but the Twins hoped Buxton would play regularly in the outfield, and Taylor could be a bench option. That plan hasn’t come to fruition because Taylor has been needed in the line-up daily while Buxton is in the DH role.

Typically, batters are slightly behind pitchers at the season’s start because of colder weather and the ramp-up to the season. Taylor has struggled to start the season by hitting .194/.219/.258 (.477) with two doubles and 12 strikeouts in his first nine games. Nick Gordon (-37 OPS+) is the only regular with a lower OPS+ than Taylor (32 OPS+). Taylor has a career 80 OPS+ which is below league average, but it also points to some improvement in his performance. 

With the plan for Buxton and Taylor, the Twins are losing an opportunity to have a bigger bat in the line-up regularly. If Buxton were in center field, the Twins could rotate DH through players like Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Joey Gallo, and even Jorge Polanco when he returns from injury. Even if he is hitting his career average, Taylor provides negative offensive value, keeping the Twins line-up from reaching its full potential. 

So, what does building Buxton up look like when he isn’t getting any opportunities in the outfield? Based on reports, it sounds like the Twins will take the approach of “if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it.” In a radio interview this past weekend, Derek Falvey said Buxton won’t see any time in centerfield until mid-May. When he starts in the outfield, it seems likely for the team to use a slow ramp-up with him starting in the outfield one-two days per week. Like it or not, Taylor will continue to get regular at-bats throughout the season’s first half. 

Looking forward, Twins fans can hope that Royce Lewis returns to the line-up in the second half and can make starts in center field. Lewis projects to start playing in minor league games in the coming weeks. It will be a slow build-up for one of the team’s top prospects as he returns from his second ACL tear. The Twins have stated that his knee might feel good, but he needs to continue strengthening the muscles around the injury to avoid future injuries. Many fans will eagerly be awaiting Lewis’ return, but it likely won’t come until mid-summer. 

Besides Lewis, some of Minnesota’s other center field depth has already been tested to start the year. Gilberto Celestino suffered an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his thumb that will sideline him until May. Austin Martin has a UCL sprain in his right elbow, which means the Twins have shut him down from throwing and hitting. Martin’s injury can eventually result in Tommy John surgery, but the Twins are hoping rest will help him avoid surgery. The team’s center field depth chart can quickly get low if Taylor misses time. 

Minnesota’s plan for Buxton is complicated because he is not guaranteed to stay healthy even when playing DH regularly. Fans have seen him be aggressive on the base paths to start the year, and he can get hurt just as easily sliding into a base as diving in the outfield. What is the correct timeline for Buxton to return to center field? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

 

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[MABB1959]

SO FRUSTRATING!!!   How can it be justified?  So what he stays healthy for the end of the season?  While opportunities are lost at the beginning?  

Kind of a waste of the DH role?  He was supposed to be paid for his CF and speed.  He is a decent hitter but it seems now he can't steal?  Needing an extra day off every week?

If I could only do 1/3 of my job and needed an extra day off, I probably wouldn't have my job long.

 

[Trov]

Personally, I do think he has only a smaller chance of staying healthy and hitting as just DH than he does playing CF.  He has hurt himself several times in his career batting and running bases.  I bet if we look back he has hurt himself more doing that than playing field.  Maybe, the argument can be made is that is just when the injury arose, but really the field is what led to some of them, I do not know all the specifics of those things. However, just keeping him as DH does hurt the team some, but if he gets hurt fully then we are even worse off, so it is a bit of a trade off. 

[rv78]

Not really sure you can say he is "full-time" DH when he isn't playing everyday. Why does someone who is DHing need extra rest beyond the already scheduled days when the team doesn't play. Seems he can play 3 days straight then can't play, or won't play or they don't let him play. 2 days off and 2 losses. Both 1 run games in which he could have made the difference between winning or losing. There is a huge difference between being 8-2 or 6-4. Let's allow Rocco to keep managing to be average instead of going for a win every game. 

In all reality Buck will probably continue to be the full-time DH until he gets hurt running the bases, then he'll be the full-time IL guy again.

[MarkTwins]

Buxton should be in centerfield, unless he's really not healthy. This is a really baffling strategy by the Twins. 

[mnfireman]

8 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Not really sure you can say he is "full-time" DH when he isn't playing everyday. Why does someone who is DHing need extra rest beyond the already scheduled days when the team doesn't play. Seems he can play 3 days straight then can't play, or won't play or they don't let him play. 2 days off and 2 losses. Both 1 run games in which he could have made the difference between winning or losing. There is a huge difference between being 8-2 or 6-4. Let's allow Rocco to keep managing to be average instead of going for a win every game. 

In all reality Buck will probably continue to be the full-time DH until he gets hurt running the bases, then he'll be the full-time IL guy again.

This!!

[wabene]

I'll wait till the end of the season to see how this plays out. By September last year this team was unwatchable. With potential mid-season reinforcements like Lewis, AK, Julien, Martin and even Paddack at some capacity, and a well curated roster, who knows this team could finish strong. We limped into the playoffs in '19 and '20 so we all know that story. A strong finish could make all this early season hand winging just fade into the late summer breeze. 

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, Trov said:

Personally, I do think he has only a smaller chance of staying healthy and hitting as just DH than he does playing CF.  He has hurt himself several times in his career batting and running bases.  I bet if we look back he has hurt himself more doing that than playing field.  Maybe, the argument can be made is that is just when the injury arose, but really the field is what led to some of them, I do not know all the specifics of those things. However, just keeping him as DH does hurt the team some, but if he gets hurt fully then we are even worse off, so it is a bit of a trade off. 

I have openly questioned the strategy because injuries can happen at any time regardless of rest. Was Correa over-worked 8 games into the season when he tweaked his back. Was Gallo run down when he developed side soreness. Was it too much playing time that caused Max Kepler to hurt his knee running to first. We are 10 games into the season and the injured list is as active as ever all around baseball... not just in the land of 10,000 lakes. 

However... I will let the guys with the information make the decision. strategize long term and execute accordingly. If the plan is to DH him for awhile... So be it. We will see if it keeps him healthy. 

However... Another However to follow that first However.

Letting him pinch hit and then pulling Miranda out of DH just to move Castro to the OF in order to keep Buck out of the outfield for a single inning is way way way way way over the top.   

[Twodogs]

Twins will keep Buck at fulltime DH until he gets hurt again.  Man I'd love to see him back in CF again.  I get tired of all of the babying of the professional athletes.  Hopefully it helps him stay healthy though, I guess we will see.

[umterp23]

Buxton getting rest days as a DH is very laughable and such as crappy strategy.  When he swings and misses resulting in K's he is already rested as we walked up to the plate, the pitch clock at bat takes maybe a minute and walks back to the dugout.  Sounds like he gets plenty of rest already with 11 K's to his name. Everyone was complaining about Gallo the K machine but Buxton is outpacing him already.

His true value is playing in the field, not the trickle down effect of Taylor having to play 95% of time defensively.  Taylor is a good one day a week option for Buxton CF day off.

Sure a lot of money spent for 1/3rd of the value for Buxton only DH'ing games.  

[whitsbrain]

I don't understand why a game on April 10th is less important than a game on September 30th?  The lineup for yesterday's game seemed almost like a surrender.  If the Twins miss winning the Central by one game, they can look back on yesterday's game as an opportunity wasted.  If Buxton can play, he should play.  Stop saving him for later.  Every game matters.

[danielp19653]

When Gallo or Kepler is back I'd be curious to see if the Twins would be willing to shift Buck to right, and let Gallo and Kepler handle CF. Gets Taylor out of the lineup against righties and lets buck use his arms more than his legs and with reduced ground to cover hopefully keeps him off the wall at full sprint.

[chinmusic]

The domino effect of his not playing centre is huge.

The end doesn't justify the means.

Baffling.

[mnfireman]

Taylor playing in and of itself is not a big problem. But when Miranda and Gordon aren't hitting and Kepler and Gallo aren't available, and their replacements aren't hitting, it all becomes a very big problem. A bench of Castro, Taylor, Farmer and Solano is better than a starting line-up of the same.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I would think that an actual ramp-up would involve playing Buxton a little in the field to start, for example, an inning or two at a time in mid-April? Then followed by a few more innings a bit more frequently in late April, then graduate to full games in May? So I have to wonder. Yesterday would have been a perfect opportunity to get him in the field for an inning or two. 

[Reptevia]

I hate to answer a question with a question, but…”How long will Twins keep Buxton at DH”?  How long is his contract?  I said it the moment they signed him, and it’s still true now: Taylor is the starter. 

[farmerguychris]

As long as Taylor is healthy, I see no reason to put Buxton there other than a day off for Taylor.  Our OF is almost as good, and it keeps Buxton from being in position to get injured as often.  His production in the batting order is more important than any slight upgrade he gives us in the field.  The only thing I don't like about that idea means that Taylor needs to be in the batting line up as well.

I'm pretty sure this will work itself out without any decisions needing to be made - people always get injured, and thats when he'll start playing in the field more often.

I have no problems at all with the plan they are taking at the moment.  It was time to try something new because just putting him out there has always resulted in injury - why would that change?

[stringer bell]

I haven't been on board with the plan for Buxton for both of the last two years. I am trying to figure out what the issues are and why the Twins are proceeding as they are. 

The injury that the Twins are trying to manage with Buxton appears to be knee tendinitis, which he suffered with all last year (even before the ill-fated slide in Boston). Buxton had surgery after his season ended on the troublesome knee. The other issue that might be chronic is a hip issue, which forced him on IL in both of the last two years.

Buxton, as we all know, has a long history of injury and the Twins may be trying to avoid another injury by limiting his risk--no outfield and only selectively being aggressive on the bases. The one part of the management plan for Buxton that might make sense is that if the wear and tear of being a full-time center fielder is what makes him hyper-susceptible to injury, then it would make sense to limit the wear and tear by giving him rest days and keeping him out of the outfield. 

What doesn't make sense to me is whether his knee is whole right now. It's pretty rare that a player has a knee surgery and that joint is still such a problem. We haven't gotten to see his great speed on display much, but it does appear that he still has it. That would be an indication that the knee isn't standing in his way. 

In 2021, Buxton only played in 61 games, but he was "full go" when playing. In those 61 games, he put up a BWAR of 4.6. Extrapolating those 61 games to 150 and that WAR total is an otherworldly 11.5--MVP caliber, better than Aaron Judge last year. It doesn't appear that we will see Buxton "full go" for an entire season. 

 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Gotta love all the arm-chair managers making ultimate judgements based on zero percent knowledge of the situation.

Athletes aren't robots, regardless of how much money they are being paid.  They need to be treated as people, so mental health and physical health need tending to.  This includes days off.

Can anybody say with certainty that Buxton is 100% healthy?  I don't care what the public spin is, we don't know if there is something else going on behind the scenes.  If they are truly giving a specific "return to field" timeframe (mid-May), it makes you wonder if he is still fighting some sort of injury.  We all want to see one of the best players in the league be a holy terror in the outfield.  But when you look at all of the moves being made to not put Buxton in the field,  I have to believe there is more going on here than just protecting him.

[John Belinski]

With Rocco as manager the Twins will be lucky to be a .500 team. Seems like a nice person, but a poor manager. Good managers have winning records in 1 run and extra inning games, but Rocco has losing record in both. He refuses to bunt the winning run over and then Twins hit into double plays. I am concerned he will be the Twin's manager for a long time so Twin's fans will just have to be happy with a .500 team. It is a weak division so maybe the Twins have a chance to do better even with Rocco as manager. Some say the Twins have one of the best 5 starting pitchers in baseball, but they still have to score some runs and Rocco's record in close games is one of the worst in baseball.

[saviking]

Simply amazing how a physical specimen like Buxton can be so fragile. I can see why they may want to ease him in to center field but not DHing every day is beyond me. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Carrying this current Twins' strategy to the extreme, then the Twins should just sit Buck until September, so that he is guaranteed not to get hurt and the Twins will have him available for sure for the stretch drive. (On the other hand, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results (i.e. Buck playing and getting hurt year after year). Looking at both sides of this conundrum I submit that holding Buck out of CF and eliminating his base stealing and "resting" Buck when he has only been DH'ing is a self-fulfilling prophecy...In effect the Twins are not playing Buck because they are worried if they play Buck he might get hurt and then he can't play. The Twins are saying Buck is "too good to possibly lose to injuries, so therefore don't let him play". That's a head scratcher for me. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

21 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Gotta love all the arm-chair managers making ultimate judgements based on zero percent knowledge of the situation.

Athletes aren't robots, regardless of how much money they are being paid.  They need to be treated as people, so mental health and physical health need tending to.  This includes days off.

Can anybody say with certainty that Buxton is 100% healthy?  I don't care what the public spin is, we don't know if there is something else going on behind the scenes.  If they are truly giving a specific "return to field" timeframe (mid-May), it makes you wonder if he is still fighting some sort of injury.  We all want to see one of the best players in the league be a holy terror in the outfield.  But when you look at all of the moves being made to not put Buxton in the field,  I have to believe there is more going on here than just protecting him.

If what you say is true, why would the FO not make a statement about Buck's health?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

24 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Gotta love all the arm-chair managers making ultimate judgements based on zero percent knowledge of the situation.

Athletes aren't robots, regardless of how much money they are being paid.  They need to be treated as people, so mental health and physical health need tending to.  This includes days off.

Can anybody say with certainty that Buxton is 100% healthy?  I don't care what the public spin is, we don't know if there is something else going on behind the scenes.  If they are truly giving a specific "return to field" timeframe (mid-May), it makes you wonder if he is still fighting some sort of injury.  We all want to see one of the best players in the league be a holy terror in the outfield.  But when you look at all of the moves being made to not put Buxton in the field,  I have to believe there is more going on here than just protecting him.

Transparency from the FO would be nice in this instance. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, whitsbrain said:

I don't understand why a game on April 10th is less important than a game on September 30th?  The lineup for yesterday's game seemed almost like a surrender.  If the Twins miss winning the Central by one game, they can look back on yesterday's game as an opportunity wasted.  If Buxton can play, he should play.  Stop saving him for later.  Every game matters.

Whit, I agree with you 100 %. 

[roger]

With Rocco making the decision, I expect he will be at DH about 4 out of 5 games until Labor Day.  He will then play about half the September games in center getting ready for the post season. 

He will continue to rest 1 of 5 games until September.  That will give him 110 games at DH with about a dozen September games in center and another 8 or so DH games in September.  So his year-end total, assuming he doesn't go on the IL, would be 118 games at DH and 12 in center for a grand total of 130 games played.

Would we be happy with that?  Would Buxton be happy?  I expect Rocco would.

 

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

The injury that the Twins are trying to manage with Buxton appears to be knee tendinitis, which he suffered with all last year (even before the ill-fated slide in Boston). Buxton had surgery after his season ended on the troublesome knee.

I was disappointed it took this many posts for somebody to point this out.  He had off-season knee surgery.  There is rehab that follows such surgery.  I trust the team's staff to be using all the medical advice they are being given, and if the rehab protocol is extending into the regular season, and they've decided a month of DH-only is the right course. I'm not second-guessing.  I do now and then lament the cost of it - we have MAT batting ninth in the lineup instead of a more capable DH higher in the order - but that's all it is, a cost of doing business, not a grievous mistake or intentional malfeasance or "golly, players today are soooo soft".  And if they did sit Buxton until he's 100%, then we still have MAT in the lineup and a replacement DH who might not reach Buxton's level of production at bat.

[chpettit19]

46 minutes ago, roger said:

With Rocco making the decision, I expect he will be at DH about 4 out of 5 games until Labor Day.  He will then play about half the September games in center getting ready for the post season. 

He will continue to rest 1 of 5 games until September.  That will give him 110 games at DH with about a dozen September games in center and another 8 or so DH games in September.  So his year-end total, assuming he doesn't go on the IL, would be 118 games at DH and 12 in center for a grand total of 130 games played.

Would we be happy with that?  Would Buxton be happy?  I expect Rocco would.

 

Why do you think this is a Rocco driven decision? I'd put a large sum of money that the FO has more input on Buxton's usage than Rocco, and the FO is making their decisions from advice from the training staff and Drs. I find it hard to believe Rocco is deciding he knows best how to manage Buxton's usage as it relates to his health and is just deciding to sit him because he thinks that'll save Buxton while the Drs and trainers are telling him he can play Buxton full bore with no issues.

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

SO FRUSTRATING!!!   How can it be justified?  So what he stays healthy for the end of the season?  While opportunities are lost at the beginning?  

Kind of a waste of the DH role?  He was supposed to be paid for his CF and speed.  He is a decent hitter but it seems now he can't steal?  Needing an extra day off every week?

If I could only do 1/3 of my job and needed an extra day off, I probably wouldn't have my job long.

 

You do realize he's getting paid 1/3 of what he would have got if he was healthy and on the field full time?  And on another team?  Value proposition is pretty solid here.  Anything past what we are getting is the upside of dealing with this minor frustration.

To answer the original question, my thought is that when Polanco is ready to hit he comes up and takes this role.  The DH can rotate daily, weekly or monthly.  Polanco can get ABs while working back to full health and helping the big club.  Timing will match up well with Buxton to center. 

It's April, the goal is to have the roster healthy in September and October.  Be patient.

[chpettit19]

21 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I was disappointed it took this many posts for somebody to point this out.  He had off-season knee surgery.  There is rehab that follows such surgery.  I trust the team's staff to be using all the medical advice they are being given, and if the rehab protocol is extending into the regular season, and they've decided a month of DH-only is the right course. I'm not second-guessing.  I do now and then lament the cost of it - we have MAT batting ninth in the lineup instead of a more capable DH higher in the order - but that's all it is, a cost of doing business, not a grievous mistake or intentional malfeasance or "golly, players today are soooo soft".  And if they did sit Buxton until he's 100%, then we still have MAT in the lineup and a replacement DH who might not reach Buxton's level of production at bat.

I've never understood the "obviously us fans who have no actual health info on Buxton know best how to use him!" argument. Bunting, stealing bases, lineup construction, pitcher usage, etc. make sense to me for us to debate since we have information and can make educated arguments. This idea that the Twins are mismanaging Buxton sure looks like it's just fans frustrated and turning that into the Twins being wrong. And I get it. It sucks to have him DHing. But this isn't just Rocco or Falvine saying "I'm no Dr, but I'm pretty sure this is how we'll save Buxton from getting hurt." The Drs and trainers are giving them their best, well educated, advice on how to manage him to get the most games/ABs out of him. Crazy to me that fans with no real info think they know for sure that they're doing it wrong. It's ok to just say "this sucks, and I wish he was in CF everyday and this freaking team could stay even a little healthy" without having to say the team is screwing it all up.