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Twins bring All-Star CF Byron Buxton back from the injured list for the Field of Dreams game
Twins bring All-Star CF Byron Buxton back from the injured list for the Field of Dreams game
DYERSVILLE, Iowa — The Minnesota Twins reinstated All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton from the 10-day injured list before their game at the Field of Dreams against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Buxton missed 14 games with a right hip impingement, his second stint this season on the injured list. The first stay prevented him from playing in the All-Star Game. He played in seven games after the break before being sidelined again, but the 32-year-old who has frequently battled injuries throughout his career was batting second and playing center field on Thursday night.
After heavy rain moved through the area earlier in the day, the Twins wanted to be extra careful with a potentially wet warning track before clearing their franchise player for action. Having an off day built into the series on Friday for travel to Minneapolis to play the remainder of the series at Target Field added some insurance to the plan.
“He looks good. He's in a good spot,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We're excited to have him back.”
With less than one-fourth of the regular season remaining and the Twins in the thick of the division and wild-card races, there'll be a balance down the stretch to find between keeping Buxton fresh and putting their best lineup on the field.
“We don’t want another setback,” Shelton said. “With Buck, there’s always going to be management, just because the guy’s a thoroughbred. He’s at top speed all of the time.”
Major League Baseball allowed a 27th player for the special site game, so the Twins didn’t have to make a corresponding roster move to make room for Buxton. He was batting .263 with 16 doubles, 25 home runs, 57 runs scored, 45 RBIs and an .864 OPS in 82 games this season before this latest injured list stint.
Buxton brought his family to the game and played catch at the ballfield site where the 1989 movie was filmed with his 12-year-old son, Brixton, allowing for some additional reflection on his journey from rural Georgia to being the second overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Twins. He played in 2013 for their Class A affiliate in Cedar Rapids, about an hour's drive south.
“What Major League Baseball did to make this happen is pretty special,” Buxton said. “You bring that little kid back into somebody that maybe wasn’t having the best year or things wasn’t going their way and this could be that spark that could turn that corner to relive that passion for them again.
"It’s a special place for us to be able to play in, for sure.”
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