And now, a poem in honor of Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton:
Water is wet
The sky is blue
Byron Buxton’s injured
That’s nothing new
It was a matter of time before Buxton ended up injuring himself during the 2022 season. That moment happened on Friday, when he was injured after hitting a leadoff double. Buxton knew it immediately as well, even if he was able to walk off under his own power.
Minnesota Twins keeping walking tightrope with Byron Buxton
This was part of the concern when the Twins signed Buxton to that seven year, $70 million extension. There is no question that he is a transcendent talent when he is on the diamond, someone who drastically improves the lineup. He has emerged as a star since the beginning of the 2019 season, posting a 139 OPS+ with 45 homers and 58 doubles in his 709 plate appearances.
The problem is that Buxton has appeared in more than 92 games just once in his eight years in the majors. He is going to miss time; the only question is how much time will it be and when that stint on the Injured List will take place.
This time, there is some hope that Buxton will not be out for long. He did seem able to walk off the diamond without much difficulty. The fact that he exited under his own power is encouraging. Hopefully, it is just a minor tweak and not anything that will require Buxton to miss an extended period of time. The Twins need him to be healthy in order to contend, and baseball as a whole is better when its brightest stars are able to get on the diamond.
Byron Buxton is injured once again. Hopefully, the Minnesota Twins outfielder just has a minor issue and will be back in the lineup soon.