Minneapolis – Byron Buxton has been noticeably absent from the Minnesota Twins lineup the past few days. He last played Wednesday night when he hit two home runs in Minnesota’s 9-5 loss to the Miami Marlins, and has since been out with right hip flexor soreness.
With a lengthy list of injuries in his career, many Twins fans are typically fearful of what it could mean for him anytime Buxton is out with any soreness. But the good news is, this is one of those times he wanted to err on the side of caution and rest up to ensure the soreness wouldn’t turn into anything worse.
“We did some management on it a few days before then,” Buxton said. “The more I played, the tighter it got the next day I came in. It’s just being smart. I don’t want to make the tightness, if that’s what it is, become something major. The biggest thing is to make sure I’m playing.”
Buxton began pre-game baseball workouts on Saturday, before the Twins’ second game in their series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He came off from his field activities before heading for the weight room for the next steps. With the quick turnaround of sitting two days, then getting back into baseball activities, it was an encouraging sign for Twins manager Derek Shelton with how soon Buck could be returning.
“I think we’ll have a better idea after those baseball activities,” Shelton said, “but the fact that he’s out there moving around, I think we’re trending in the right direction, and then we’ll have a better idea after gets out and moves around.
“I know for me, playing keeps me sane, keeps me chill. That’s the biggest thing is to make sure I’m there for the guys, but also understanding this is May and they’re going to need me for the rest of the year. If it is a couple of days of missing time for this now, rather than missing months if it was to lead to something like that.”
Byron Buxton shared that he felt the hip soreness built up more while running than in his swing at the plate.
“The one thing I like to do,” he said, “unfortunately.”
Taj Bradley to make rehab start
In addition to Buxton progressing back into the Twins lineup, the Twins announced that starter Taj Bradley will be making a rehab start on Sunday for Triple-A St. Paul. Bradley has been out since May 9 with right pec muscle inflammation and threw a 20-pitch bullpen on Friday.
In his last start in Washington, D.C. on May 5, Bradley threw 96 pitches in six innings of work, where he allowed two runs on four hits, two walks, and struck out eight batters.
