The Minnesota Twins are playing against the Cincinnati Reds tonight, in a series that would be REALLY nice to win. Cincy was a decent story, early on, and they floated around .500 for most of the season. But they’ve run out of gas and, at 10 games back of the final NL wildcard spot (14 games out of 1st in the NL Central), it’s a team that’s prepping for the offseason, not postseason.
That’s why it was big news, earlier in the week, when news broke that Byron Buxton was returning to the active roster, on Friday. His haters don’t want to believe it, but the Minnesota Twins are a much better team, when Buck is in the lineup. More on him shortly.
Byron Buxton returns, Carlos Correa and Max Kepler ‘hopefully’ close
Prior to the game on Friday, we got a bevy of additional injury updates from the Twins. First, Rocco Baldelli updated reporters on Carlos Correa and Max Kepler. Both guys, along with Buxton and Manuel Margot, have been getting live reps vs minor league pitchers this week, at Target Field.
Unlike previous updates he’s given, the Minnesota manager seemed a bit more optimistic regarding Kepler and Correa’s imminent return to the Twins lineup. Unfortunately, he would not get specific with their timelines. In fairness, it appears they may still be figuring that part out, too.
“We’re in the process of making those calls and seeing what those timelines look like. But I think we’re getting close.”
Rocco Baldelli on when Carlos Correa and Max Kepler will return the the Minnesota Twins lineup – via Do-Hyoung Park’s (MLB.com) tweet above
From there, we got one more bonus injury update, to end the week. This one has been flying under the radar, for a couple of weeks. Right-handed pitcher Chris Paddack has been out of the Twins rotation for much of the 2nd half, but most recently due to a forearm injury that’s had him out since July 20 .
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But the 28-year-old Texan’s season may not be over, just yet. Normally a starter, Paddack and the Twins are preparing him for a possible relief role, come the postseason, if his arm will allow it.
Chris Paddack told Do-Hyoung Park (MLB.com) this evening that he threw his first bullpen session today, at Target Field. His ultimate short-term goal is to earn a playoff roster spot, as a reliever. He said that decision will be made during the Twins’ final 6-game homestand, to end the season, which begins on September 24 vs Miami .
Getting Buck back is huge step in right direction for Minnesota Twins
Because of his troubles staying healthy, Byron Buxton will always be a controversial figure, in this market. As long as he can run, Buck is one of the best center fielders in the league. But in 2024, he’s been by far one of the more productive offensive weapons in this lineup, when healthy.
And he has been for most of the season. With 16 games remaining, the 30-year-old former 2nd overall pick has a chance to reach 106 games played in 2024. Rocco made it clear today , that Buxton will not play every game, but that he will be playing “regularly”.
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If Buck plays 10 of the remaining 16 games, he will reach the 100 games mark for the first time since 2017, when he played 140 games. Entering tonight’s matchup vs the Reds, Byron is batting .275 (third highest on the Twins), with a .862 OPS and 138 OPS+ (both rank 2nd), in 335 plate appearances .
According to Baseball Reference , he and Carlos Correa, at 3.3 WAR apiece, are the two most valuable players on the Minnesota Twins 2024 roster. So hate him all you want, this team needs Byron Buxton, if it wants any chance at making noise in the postseason.
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