Collision and Concussion Chaos: The Latest on Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

Image courtesy of Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins announced on Friday afternoon that shortstop Carlos Correa was indeed headed to the 7-day concussion injured list. Correa collided with center fielder Byron Buxton during the third inning of Thursday's win over the Baltimore Orioles on a pop-up to short centerfield. The star shortstop immediately exited the game while Buxton left during the bottom of the third. 

Correa will be sidelined for at least a week, with Ryan Fitzgerald called up from Triple-A to replace him on the roster. Fitzgerald made his major-league debut on Friday night in Milwaukee.

Buxton's status, meanwhile, remains up in the air. There was some confusion on Friday when the Twins initially indicated to reporters that he had cleared concussion protocol and would be available against the Brewers, only to follow shortly after with an update that Buxton had NOT in fact been cleared. ""He is still being evaluated daily," team officials shared per Audra Martin. "Until he is in the lineup or not on the IL he needs to clear hurdles in the protocol."

UPDATE: The Twins announced ahead of Saturday night's game that Buxton will be joining Correa on the 7-day concussion IL..

Correa appeared to take the brunt of the collision on Thursday when Buxton's forehead and chin smacked into the back of his head and left shoulder, respectively. He appeared woozy but exited the field under his own power following a prolonged visit by the athletic training staff.

Implemented in 2011, MLB's concussion protocol and 7-day concussion injured list is specifically reserved for suspected and diagnosed concussions, which incentivizes teams to be conservative with concussion management while still maintaining a full 26-man roster. The typical recovery timeframe for a mild concussion is seven to 10 days. Correa had no reported history of concussions prior to Thursday's injury.

Given the franchise’s history, it’s hard to blame Twins fans for feeling a wave of nausea seeing two of the team’s biggest stars dealing with concussion concerns. Correa and Buxton's placements on the 7-day IL evoke painful memories of the past — namely, the careers of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, both of which were permanently altered by fateful blows to the head. 

Hopefully this latest scare proves to be a short detour. We'll keep you posted with more details as they emerge.

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[Gamblerssoftball]

Byron has had a history of dealing with migraine headaches. I would be interested to know if a possible concussion has any negative effect in that regard. Here's hoping that both our stars aren't out too long.

[tony&rodney]

Byron had been in the lineup 41 of 44 games going into last night. I'm sure he wants to have a season where he plays more games than at any time in his career. Hopefully he checks out ok because he must feel a little unlucky right now. Wish him all the best.

[bean5302]

Mauer and Morneau were both catchers and played heavy contact sports (Mauer QB and Morneau who was a hockey goalie) prior to the start of their professional baseball careers. Both experienced many concussions prior to the career crushing ones so they're a little different.

Concussions can have long term lingering effects, but the increased risks are more prevalent when there have been multiple concussions. Let's hope Correa's lack of known concussion history helps him out here.

[MN_ExPat]

Dominus eos benedicat et per hoc momentum ad salutem et prosperitatem, tum in campo tum extra, tuto ducat 🙏🏻✝️.
 

Amen.

[glunn]

54 minutes ago, MN_ExPat said:

Dominus eos benedicat et per hoc momentum ad salutem et prosperitatem, tum in campo tum extra, tuto ducat 🙏🏻✝️.
 

Amen.

Translation?  I would click like but I don't know whether you are praying for the Twins or the Tigers.

[Blyleven2011]

Buxton to IL list , Sounds like everyone is going to get to see McCrusher,  2 sources are reporting that he is traveling to Milwaukee  ...

Someone is going to have to be dfa'd off 40 man ...

My guess Gasper  , and if another team wants him , they can have the AAAA  player  ...

[MN_ExPat]

46 minutes ago, glunn said:

Translation?  I would click like but I don't know whether you are praying for the Twins or the Tigers.

Apologies, it’s Latin. Just a prayer for Buc’s and Correa’s continued health and safety. 😊. 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Mauer and Morneau were both catchers and played heavy contact sports (Mauer QB and Morneau who was a hockey goalie) prior to the start of their professional baseball careers. Both experienced many concussions prior to the career crushing ones so they're a little different.

Concussions can have long term lingering effects, but the increased risks are more prevalent when there have been multiple concussions. Let's hope Correa's lack of known concussion history helps him out here.

Seems logical but do we actually know Mauer and Morneau had many concussions prior to their career altering ones?  I don’t remember hearing that before. 

[sun]

9 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Seems logical but do we actually know Mauer and Morneau had many concussions prior to their career altering ones?  I don’t remember hearing that before. 

Mauer was also a starting high school quarterback. What QB hasn't had his cage rattled more than once? 

[Otaknam]

I have been holding my breath this season, hoping the two most injury prone players on the team stay healthy. Then they both get injured on the same play that never should happened! Infielders should defer to the outfielders on this play. So now they have three position players out, including Wallner. And Lewis started on the IL and is struggling mightily, though there are signs that he is figuring it out. 

[jmlease1]

Hopefully it ends up being a mild concussion with no lingering effects, but you just never know with these things. At least we're past the point where people question a player's "toughness" if they don't stay in the lineup after "having their bell rung". This is brain trauma and it's effing serious. Really hope these guys are ok.

Glad the Twins moved Buxton to the IL and didn't wait any longer. They've had a history of doing the "wait & see" game with guys that leaves their bench awfully thin at times.

[jorgenswest]

15 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Buxton to IL list , Sounds like everyone is going to get to see McCrusher,  2 sources are reporting that he is traveling to Milwaukee  ...

Someone is going to have to be dfa'd off 40 man ...

My guess Gasper  , and if another team wants him , they can have the AAAA  player  ...

Why not move Keaschall to the 60?

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, sun said:

Mauer was also a starting high school quarterback. What QB hasn't had his cage rattled more than once? 

The #1 ranked High School QB in the country, standing 6’5” didn’t get lit up too often by Cretin’s foes.

[LambchoP]

Hopefully Buck and Correa can come back in a week or so. Looks like Coloumbe is going to the IL. He's been fantastic, hope it's nothing serious. Guessing Funderburk will be our lefty now until Coloumbe can come back.

[bean5302]

14 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Seems logical but do we actually know Mauer and Morneau had many concussions prior to their career altering ones?  I don’t remember hearing that before. 

Pretty sure they've both talked about it. Here's Morneau speculating he had concussions while playing hockey. One of the biggest issues with concussions and history is... nobody cared until about 10-15 years ago so nothing was documented.

Quote

His brain had other plans. Morneau, born in British Columbia, figured he suffered concussions while playing hockey as a kid. And he was hit in the head by a Ron Villone pitch in April 2005, landing on the injured list for 10 days because of a concussion.

https://www.startribune.com/day-and-night-justin-morneau-was-a-twins-star-10-years-ago-when-a-slide-into-second-base-changed-everything/571729992