The Minnesota Twins are riding high after extending their winning streak to 11 games after sweeping the Baltimore Orioles on the road. At 24-20, the Twins are at their best record of the season with a .545 winning percentage and are clawing their way back into the AL Central, one of the most competitive divisions in baseball.
However, Minnesota’s 4-0 win on Thursday afternoon may be a Pyrrhic victory. Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa left the game after colliding in shallow center field on a ball hit perfectly in an area where their coverages overlapped.
The Twins placed Buxton and Correa into MLB’s concussion protocol, which the team says is purely precautionary. Harrison Bader also exited Wednesday’s game with a groin injury. The Twins believe Bader suffered a minor injury but didn’t play on Thursday. Ty France also left on Wednesday after fouling a ball off his ankle. He did return for Thursday’s game.
Teams must overcome multiple challenges in baseball’s 162-game regular season to earn a postseason appearance, and the Twins already passed their first big test. They’ve stacked wins after starting 7-15 and saved their season. They’re back in the playoff mix thanks to their winning streak.
However, Buxton, Correa, and Bader have become vital to Minnesota’s success this season. Losing them for any period of time will be another tough test immediately after they salvaged their season.
A healthy Buxton was a productive Buxton
Buxton has driven winning during Minnesota’s hot streak. The Twins have gone 17-5 in their last 22 games, and nobody is hitting better than Buxton. He has a .278/.344/.570 slashline with 6 home runs and 17 RBI while recording a 151 wRC+.
He’s hitting the ball with a 92.4 MPH average exit velocity (88.5 MPH is league average) and running with a 30.2 ft./sec sprint speed, which is in the 100th percentile and has stolen 8 bases on the season. And of course, he continues to make highlight reel catches in center field while his 4 outs above average is also in the 100th percentile of league outfielders.
Buxton is on track to become an All-Star for the second time. That hope, and the hope of the Twins staying on their current pace, likely rests on Buxton missing little to no time on the injured list. Twins fans have enjoyed a healthy Buxton in 2025. He has played in 41 of the team’s 44 games this season. The only games he has missed this year have been for rest.
Bader was an effective Buxton fill-in
Losing Bader means Buxton’s injury will have a larger impact. The Twins signed Bader as an outfielder who could fill Michael A. Taylor‘s role in 2023. Bader is a starting-caliber, Gold Glove center fielder who can fill in if Buxton can’t play, while bouncing around the outfield if he’s healthy.
Bader has been everything the Twins have wanted. He has a .300/.384/.464 slashline with 4 home runs and 18 RBI in 39 games in 2025. Only Buxton’s 1.8 fWAR on the season is higher than Bader’s 1.5 fWAR on the team. Last year, Bader had a 1.3 fWAR.
However, Minnesota’s outfield depth is a little light after Bader. DaShawn Keirsey is a nice defensive fill-in for center field. However, his .103/.103/.282 slashline indicates he isn’t ready for a starting workload over a long stretch.
Kody Clemens and Trevor Larnach aren’t center fielders. Willi Castro can play center field and has made 75 appearances there in Minnesota. However, his -4 OAA clip defensively doesn’t inspire confidence.
Depending on the length of injuries to either center fielder, the Twins could call up Carson McCusker or Emmanuel Rodriguez to boost the lineup and fan morale. However, the Twins could be reluctant to do so right now. McCusker is a corner outfielder, and Rodriguez has a solid .769 OPS in Triple-A, but it’s not a high enough clip to demand a call-up in May.
The Twins will miss Correa’s defense
While Buxton’s production and spark make him hard to replace, the Twins also can’t easily replace Correa. Correa had found himself at the plate before getting injured after he hit .194/.256/.319 with a 63 wRC+ in his first 21 games this season. In his past 20 games, he hit .276/.291/.342 with a 78 wRC+. Correa had an 87 wRC+ during the winning streak. His production at the plate still needs to improve, but the Twins would miss his defense if he misses significant time.
Brooks Lee, Willi Castro, and Royce Lewis are Correa’s likely replacements at shortstop. Castro could have his hands full filling in at other positions. Meanwhile, Lewis is returning from the IL and has hit 4 for 27 since returning. The Twins don’t need to add playing one of the most demanding spots on the field on top of his struggles at the plate.
Lee seems like the most logical fit because it allows someone else to play second base, which is easier to fill than shortstop. Still, Lee is nowhere near the level of a Platinum Glove winner in Correa, who owns a 7 OAA at shortstop this season and is in the 100th percentile of shortstops this season.
The Twins can’t lose momentum now
Every team faces injuries throughout a season. However, the Twins may have lost three of their most important hitters simultaneously, which could deflate the momentum from the team’s winning streak, especially with the division as good as it is this season.
The pitching staff is still excellent with a 3.30 team ERA that’s top-5 in baseball. Minnesota’s arms can keep games close. But the Twins’ 7-15 start was more of the lineup’s fault than the pitchers. Minnesota’s bats need to stay hot, or at least league-average, to continue winning.
The Twins passed their first test of the season by overcoming a 13-20 start. However, the second test seems fast approaching, with injuries mounting.
Losing Buxton, Correa, and Bader for any amount of time puts the team at a big disadvantage. It will test a team that has depth. However, Minnesota’s reinforcements in St. Paul are unproven in one way or another. The Twins will need Buxton and Correa healthy to sustain any run of success.
