The Twins Can't Afford to Wait on Byron Buxton Anymore

[HarmonK03]

36 minutes ago, Rodney29 said:

He is clearly injured. His not taking 2nd base on the bloop to right field the other day clearly illustrated that. The number of times hitting into double plays also reflects that Buck is injured.

If a player is injured and his play is clearly diminished due to that injury, the MLB has a special designation for such situations.

Place Buck on the 15-day injury list and call up someone who can play the outfield. 

 

He has a hip ailment, that I don't think they are denying that.  They are hoping that treatment will allow him to play thru it.  The definition of playing thru it is different depending on who you ask.  Personally I want him to be able to use his legs as a weapon most of the time not just periodically.  But if he can play and feels he can play the team is not going to put him on the IL unless a doctor says differently.

Whether we agree with it, Buxton has to be on board with any decision to put him on the 10 day IL unless a doctor says he is unable to play.

[weitz41]

Well..I did point out with the Clemens article that Buxton needed one. Clemens was hitting like 600 ops. before the article and BOOM 1.063 ops since. This is a group effort folks... But. NO had to wait till after the Padres series.

OK, enough of the baseball gods hate the Twins stuff and back to reality. Buxton definitely doesn't look like the one from a couple months ago. From what little I've read. Hip injuries are a nagging one that doesn't heal without extended downtime. Like an entire offseason. I'm not onboard with this Roman Triumph thoughts of Jenkins. But I do agree the Twins need their best outfielder playing. Buxton on one hip is not in the top three.

[BallseyBall]

Per ESPN, Buxton is hitting .156 with runners in scoring position.  And when it really counts--- 2 outs and RISP- he is 2-34 for an abysmal .059 BA.  Again, that's .059 in the clutch, during which he struck out more than 40% of the time.  Yeah, stay healthy Buck, the Twins can't afford to lose that kind of production when it counts.

[Jacksson]

Team is going nowhere.  In his current condition, Buxton is hurting the team, not helping.  Put Buxton on the IL for the balance of the season.  With roster expansion and the IL placement; there is room to get a look at 3 of the AAA kids, especially and particularly those who are in their final option year.  Let's see what they can do.

[HarmonK03]

5 minutes ago, Jacksson said:

Team is going nowhere.  In his current condition, Buxton is hurting the team, not helping.  Put Buxton on the IL for the balance of the season.  With roster expansion and the IL placement; there is room to get a look at 3 of the AAA kids, especially and particularly those who are in their final option year.  Let's see what they can do.

They are only going to add 1 position player on Sept. 1.

[DocBauer]

Buxton's hip issue was caused by his knee issue...since fixed...from everything I've ever heard or read. I'm not exactly sure what can be done this offseason to help correct the issue...hopefully SOMETHING...but it's clearly not going to be "fixed" during this season.

But the problem is, twice this season to took a little time off for rest...and then came back looking as good as ever. An 85-90% Buxton is still a really good ballplayer. He got doubled up on a play he just never gets doubled up on, but made a good play in CF. So was he just slowing up on his run to 1B to preserve his hip? Is he really just slumping and not so hurt that he won't go 2 for 4 with a HR in his next game and make us all look silly? Remember, it's STOPPING that hurts, not running or hitting, supposedly. 

Or is he really hurting so bad that it's messing with his game? 

If that's the case, maybe shut him down and bring him back if the Twins make the post season. They pretty much did the same thing in 2023 with Lewis when he had a bad hamstring. Lewis was limited, but he had a couple big hits to help the Twins beat the Jays in the 1st round at least. A 4 week shutdown wouldn't hurt, even if it didn't help.

Buck is a proud warrior who wants to play and help his team. Only he and the Twins know if he's conserving himself and in a slump, OR, if he's hurting so bad it's affecting him at the plate.

Regardless, he's slumping. Larnach is slumping. Ironically, Roden might be heating up some. But there's also PLENTY of room for Jenkins to come up and play daily and possibly spark this team. Just DFA Jackson again who's only role is to PH with average speed for even slower players in late innings, and to be an emergency catcher in case Jeffers has to PH. Please! 

At this point, it's an EXTREME version of roster mismanagement. Jackson down, Jenkins up and playing DAILY, Buxton gets at least 1 day off a week, same with Bell, and Larnach can PH until he proves he's out of his slump. 

And if it turns out Buck has to go to the IL again, you have your best CF replacement option in Jenkins.

This isn't that hard Mr. Zoll!

[DocBauer]

And just as I get done posting I look at the Box from tonight's game and Buxton is 1-1 with a DBL, a BB, and 2 Runs scored.

So MAYBE he's just been in a slump and conserving his body?

[DJL44]

Buxton has scored three times tonight so far…

[Mauerpower]

Over react much?

[ashbury]

Hope the OP stayed up to enjoy tonight's game.

[Squirrel]

5 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Hope the OP stayed up to enjoy tonight's game.

The reverse jinx worked!

[ashbury]

9 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

The reverse jinx worked!

As expected.

[HarmonK03]

Maybe the Buck to the IL talk will go away for a few days now.

[Bodie]

(If I may use the royal) We signed a guy to a muliyear contract who had never played a full season.  There was no secret about that.

We got a bit of utterly spectacular play as a two-way player that we expect from our CFs. 

We got even more time of good/great defense and acceptable bat.  And a bit of playing time that was nothing but time!

And we got a lot of IL time where his personality and work ethic were his only contribution. 

About what should have been expected when the final "t" in Buxton was crossed and "i" in Twins was dotted.

[Nashvilletwin]

Regardless of the no trade clause, the ship has sailed on trading Buxton.  We had ample opportunity to press the issue when his value was high. Those days are gone. He will be a Twin for the next two years.  If he can mostly maintain his health, he can be a reasonable, if not important, contributor both on the field and in the clubhouse.  He can stay as fresh/available as possible by sharing primary LF and DH duties with Keaschall.

But just like his other three legit major leaguer teammates entering 2026 - Lopez, Ryan and Jeffers - the ship has sailed and Twins will get zero trade value from Buxton. 

[JD-TWINS]

18 hours ago, 1985Fan said:

Buxton’s slump isn’t going to get him pulled from the lineup. They’re going to keep plugging him until he says he can’t go. It’s too bad that the slump comes at a crucial time, but that’s baseball. You stick with the your stars. If they go down in a ball of flames with Buxton in the lineup, so be it. 

Then he goes 3-5 with a walk AND scores 4 times in a game………hopefully, he’s warming!!

[BallseyBall]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Then he goes 3-5 with a walk AND scores 4 times in a game………hopefully, he’s warming!!

Hopefully so.  Then again, he once more went 0-2 with runners in scoring position, stranding three.  Take the bad with the good I guess.

[MeleMouth]

Buxton had an excellent game at the plate last night, but he is still at .194 with .250 slugging for August after a similar July. Now, he often seems to start slow after returning from injury, so maybe this was the start of his return. But you can't ignore that he did it against pitchers who ended the night with 6.08, 9.00, 10.66, and 6.35 ERAs, and that Springs, the starter, has some of the lowest velocity in the league.  

To me, Buxton still looks like he's dealing with a serious injury that will make it very hard for him to maintain even league-average performance over an extended period, particularly against better pitching.

[David Maro]

The big problem is Jenkins will be on the roster September 1st,but the White Sox are in town August 28th. Buxton has been a player in waiting his whole career and his team can't wait any longer. It would be wise to put him on IL Thursday and have Jenkins ready for the White Sox. With all the division games ahead the team can't wait for Buxton.

The next problem is the BP starting to show the inability to throw strikes. They are coming in and walking the 1st hitter they face. They have to clean that up now or it will end the season.

[MikeNC]

What to add to all this chum?  How about this:  Let's pretent that YOU are the manager of the Twins.  Your star player, (not kidding, when he is playing well is your best player, bar none) has said he is ready to play.  So you play him and cross your fingers and hope he soon goes into ByronBeast mode!  Because if he does, you are IN the playoffs, badda-bing!  It is nonsensical to think that you can take a prospect, who's never even had a cup of coffee in MLB, and thrust him into that position and say "Ok, Rook, go carry this team to the playoffs".  If Buck plays poorly that will be apparant and then you may indeed have a decision to make.  But you gotta give it a full run first.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, BallseyBall said:

Hopefully so.  Then again, he once more went 0-2 with runners in scoring position, stranding three.  Take the bad with the good I guess.

Every day one could criticize 2-4 Plate Appearances……..a really good player gets a hit 27 times out of 100.

3-5 with a walk & scoring 4 runs (of 9) doesn’t deserve any scrutiny. I can be “old school demanding” but asking or expecting Buxton to do a little more than he did last night is a bit much.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, MikeNC said:

What to add to all this chum?  How about this:  Let's pretent that YOU are the manager of the Twins.  Your star player, (not kidding, when he is playing well is your best player, bar none) has said he is ready to play.  So you play him and cross your fingers and hope he soon goes into ByronBeast mode!  Because if he does, you are IN the playoffs, badda-bing!  It is nonsensical to think that you can take a prospect, who's never even had a cup of coffee in MLB, and thrust him into that position and say "Ok, Rook, go carry this team to the playoffs".  If Buck plays poorly that will be apparant and then you may indeed have a decision to make.  But you gotta give it a full run first.

The one thing Manager/Management could have pushed for was 2 of 3 games in St. Paul to work out a couple kinks……he came right back to big club off the IL………Shelton has even eluded to that being an issue relative to his lack of early success ……was anticipated. Doesn’t make it easier to watch.

[HarmonK03]

2 hours ago, David Maro said:

It would be wise to put him on IL Thursday

So he plays probably 6 days in a row at a minimum and then you go oh wait, he is hurt, we are going to put him on the IL.  The IL is not a taxi squad that you can just move people up and down.  If doctors say he can play, he is not going on the IL, we may as well accept that fact.  And we are going to see some nights like last night where he is a spark and helps us to victory, just not as many games as we would hope.

[laloesch]

Just call up Jenkins now and try and save this playoff push.  

[David Maro]

If people listen to Shelton he asks Buxton before every game after warm-ups are you good to go. That sounds like he has concerns on weather or not Buxton wants to play hurt or not. Sometimes the manager has to do what's best for the player and the team. If a Dr tells you the injury is not going to get worse that doesn't mean you are good to go. The next 2 weeks are going to be the most important for the future of the season. Having a underpreforming Buxton in the lineup may be the teams downfall.

[Dawgzilla]

On 8/24/2026 at 3:08 PM, Woof Bronzer said:

Is Buxton "calling in sick" or is he injured?  Do you think there's a difference between a corporate employee calling in sick and Buxton getting injured on the baseball field?  

If you get injured at work, you go on worker's comp and your boss can't fire you by law.  

Ahhh...you don't get a hamstring strain, pulled lat, groin pull, dislocated shoulder, etc, meaning yes, I know, but.....the equivalent (workplace related) is sickness, laziness, not showing up at all or insubordination as, somewhat, relative comparison, that is all I was saying!  You don't pull a hamstring sitting at a desk, or get hurt by tossing scrap paper into a waste paper basket!  😉😎

[HarmonK03]

2 hours ago, David Maro said:

If people listen to Shelton he asks Buxton before every game after warm-ups are you good to go. That sounds like he has concerns on weather or not Buxton wants to play hurt or not. Sometimes the manager has to do what's best for the player and the team. If a Dr tells you the injury is not going to get worse that doesn't mean you are good to go. The next 2 weeks are going to be the most important for the future of the season. Having a underpreforming Buxton in the lineup may be the teams downfall.

That is a manager checking in with his best player and shows his importance which is why he is not going on the IL if doctors say he can play.  He is going to have good days just like last night and other days he will manage his effort.  But as we saw last night, on his good days he is a difference maker.