Buxton's Hip Gives Out Again, and Minnesota's Margin Gets Thinner

Byron Buxton exited Tuesday's 4-2 loss with a hip issue — his third IL stint of the season for the same right hip — and at this point the Twins have to plan around his absence more than his presence. In 50 games he's hit 17 home runs and posted an .884 OPS, the kind of production that makes him Minnesota's most dangerous bat by a comfortable distance. The problem is that 50 games is all they've gotten, and with 35 left in the regular season, the math on how many more they'll see is not encouraging.

The timing is rough. Minnesota sits 61-67, three games back of the final wild-card spot, having lost three straight. Luke Keaschall is the next man up in center, and Alan Roden has logged time there as well — capable fillers, not replacements. Austin Martin is also on the 10-day IL, which means the lineup is thinner than it's been in weeks at exactly the wrong moment.

This is the version of the Buxton story that's been running for years now. The talent is genuine — when he's in there, he changes what Minnesota's offense looks like. But a team three games out of a playoff spot in late August cannot build a run around a player who has already been shut down twice for the same injury. The Twins will need Ryan Jeffers, Keaschall, and whoever else is standing to carry the offense from here.