Minnesota Twins Not Going to Play Byron Buxton in Outfield Any Time Soon

Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli says that the team is not going to put Byron Buxton in the outfield any team soon because of knee issues.

The Minnesota Twins have been using Byron Buxton exclusively at designated hitter this season, and it appears that will be the case for a while longer.

Manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters on Tuesday that Buxton is not getting any closer to a return to the outfield.

The following is a report from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli acknowledged Tuesday that Buxton (knee) is still unable to play the outfield, Patrick Borzi of MinnPost.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Buxton still has limitations related to his September 2022 right knee surgery and will continue to get his playing time out of the DH role, possibly for the remainder of the 2023 season. Baldelli told reporters that the condition of the knee hasn't worsened but also hasn't improved. Buxton, 29, is 1-for-34 (.029) with 17 strikeouts over his last 10 games and his season OPS has fallen to .715.

It's a devastating turnaround for one of the premiere young players in the game over the last few years. Buxton's overall batting average is down to .202 this season as he has 10 homers and 23 RBIs.

He was a first-round pick of the Twins back in 2012 and made his debut at the age of 21 in the 2015 season. He is an All-Star and has won a Gold Glove award for his work in the outfield. He signed a seven-year, $100 million deal before the 2022 season.

He's a career .240 hitter with 108 homers and 278 RBI. He's stolen 83 career bases, but the lack of productivity and knee issues have limited his running this year. He has just six steals.

The Twins will take on the Red Sox on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. ET.

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