MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins put center fielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list Friday because of inflammation in his troublesome right knee, with guarded optimism his latest absence can be kept to the minimum.
Buxton exited early from the game at Chicago on Wednesday after experiencing soreness in the knee that he’s had two surgeries on and limited him to a designated hitter role last season. The discomfort caused him to pull up short while trying to steal second base for a third consecutive time, after the first two attempts were thwarted by foul balls.
“This is a long season. He wants to be in a good place, because he is still dealing with some tenderness and some tightness,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “You don’t want to be chasing that every couple of days, so we want to try and get ahead of it here.”
Buxton is batting .250 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run, 12 runs and 11 RBIs in 28 games this season. The Twins recalled multi-position player Austin Martin from Triple-A St. Paul to take his roster spot. Willi Castro was in center field Friday in the series opener against Boston.
Buxton has played more than 92 games only once in 10 years in the major leagues. The 30-year-old played center field in 20 of Minnesota’s first 30 games and was the DH in four others, with four other appearances as a sub.
The move was made retroactive to Thursday. Both Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli said Friday they believe Buxton is on a realistic track to be ready to return when he’s eligible May 12, or at least a few days after that. An MRI test on his knee revealed no structural damage.
“He cares so much. In his mind, he does not want to let anybody down, and he wants to just say he’s fine,” Baldelli said. “His initial reaction is always to say, ‘I’m good.’ When he can’t say, ‘I’m good,’ it hurts him and we reached that point in the last game where he can’t say it.”
