Buxton hits the I.L. among other roster moves

If you think it couldn’t get worse for the Minnesota Twins, well... then don’t read on.

After leaving the game last night due to right hip soreness, Byron Buxton is being placed on the 10-day Injured List by the team (Betsy Helfand of the St Paul Pioneer Press was the first to report this). Right hip strain is the ailment listed for him. The corresponding move is to call up catcher Caleb Hamilton.

Buxton has been playing through a knee injury and also apparently has been playing through hip issues as well. The All-Star has been hitting .224/.306/.526 on the season with 28 homers and 51 RBI. According to baseball-reference.com, he’s brought a 3.3 oWAR and 0.6 dWAR to the team as well. Like the rest of the team, he’s been slumping in the past week, hitting sub-.200.

Hamilton will get another cup of coffee in the majors. He was able to get into three games this season, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. The catcher will serve as depth and possibly a way to get some DH time for Gary Sanchez and Sandy Leon.

The Twins also formally sent Devin Smeltzer back to Triple-A St Paul and brough up Aaron Sanchez. Outfielder Alex Kirilloff will be moved to the 60-day I.L. to make room on the 40-man roster for Sanchez.

Smeltzer has been up and down with Minnesota this season. He’s posted a 3.97 ERA/5.35 FIP in 65.2 innings of work. However, his time in St Paul has been a bit worse with him putting up a 5.35 ERA in 38.2 innings and nine starts.

Sanchez will make his second start of the season for the Twins. He pitched five decent innings at Target Field against the Detroit Tigers on August 1, allowing two homers and striking out eight batters. The righty will be starting against the Houston Astros tonight.