Byron Buxton to IL; “Weeks, not 10 days”

Byron Buxton left the game last night and was replaced by Jake Cave. Now we know why, and it is not good news.

While Buxton has a well-known injury history, I believe “Hip Strain” is something new for him, and falls into the category of “freak injury.” Still, he had been performing at an astronomical level, and the Twins will miss his production. In addition to his always-stellar defense, he is hitting .370/.408/.772 and showing some power with nine home runs in 24 games.

As far as I know, Jake Cave and Max Kepler are the only options to defend center field on the roster, so for those of you calling for a Cave demotion, that isn’t likely to happen soon. Hopefully we see Kepler in center more often than not, as the man called up to take Buxton’s place is an exciting corner outfield prospect.

In many farm systems, Trevor Larnach would have been the top guy. For the Twins, he entered the year a clear third behind only Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff. He has gone 3-13 in the young Triple-A season, with two walks and two dongs.

Hopefully Buxton can beat the timeline here, or Larnach can be a sparkplug, or something—I don’t know how much more of this hard luck stuff I can take.