Report: Twins’ Byron Buxton Likely out a Week with Knee Injury; No Structural Damage | Bleacher Report

AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton reportedly did not suffer any structural damage after exiting his team’s 8-4 road win over the Boston Red Sox with right knee soreness on Friday.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Fox Sports, the ailment will “probably will require a week or so off.”

Buxton suffered the injury after sliding into second base on a leadoff double. Nick Gordon replaced him in the lineup.

The eight-year MLB veteran broke out offensively in 2021 with 19 home runs, 32 RBI, a .306 batting average and 1.005 OPS in 61 games. After the year, he signed a seven-year, $100 million extension with the Twins.

Unfortunately, Buxton has suffered numerous injuries over the past four years that have kept him off the field more often than not.

Per Dan Hayes of The Athletic:

“After appearing in a career-high 140 games in 2017, Buxton has missed nearly two-thirds of the contests played by the Twins over the past four-plus seasons. Friday was only the 222nd time he’s suited up in 665 games since the start of the 2018 season.

“Whether it’s a broken finger, concussion-like symptoms, migraine headaches, a broken toe, a bruised forearm, a torn labrum or even a broken tooth (that one didn’t cost him any games), Buxton has had difficulty staying healthy.”

Thankfully, this injury doesn’t appear likely to keep Buxton out for long. If he misses a week or so, then he’ll likely be out for the remainder of the team’s road trip against the Red Sox (three games) and Kansas City Royals (three more). Minnesota will return home Friday for a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox.

As for a contingency plan, options include playing Nick Gordon at center or moving Max Kepler to center and inserting Kyle Garlick in right. Gordon had a single and two runs in place of Buxton on Friday.