Minnesota Twins star outfielder Byron Buxton avoided serious injury to his right knee as an MRI revealed no structural damage, a source told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
While the Twins have not revealed the diagnosis or timetable, Rosenthal reports he's expected to miss roughly a week.
The 28-year-old was gifted a first-inning hit Friday after multiple Red Sox lost his pop-up in the sun. Turning it into a hustle double, Buxton suffered the injury sliding into second base. After slamming his hand angrily on the ground, the Platinum Glove winner began walking off the field and was met by third base coach Tommy Watkins.
Byron Buxton left the game after this slide into second. Hoping he’s okay pic.twitter.com/4yICUetbP5
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 15, 2022
"Obviously, he was feeling some real discomfort," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game. "He plays through a lot. He’s a tough guy and he always wants to be on the field. I think in this instance, he knew it was something he was not going to be able to play today with."
Nick Gordon replaced Buxton as a pinch runner and took over in center field for the bottom of the inning.
Buxton was off to a characteristic hot start, entering the game with three homers and two doubles.
Injuries have prevented Buxton from ever playing a full season. Other than 2017, the former second overall pick has never played more than 100 games in a season.
Last year, hip and hand injuries kept Buxton to 61 total games. Despite the limited playing time, he still accrued 4.2 WAR, according to FanGraphs, while hitting .306./358/.647 with 19 homers and nine steals.
