Byron Buxton Scratched from Minnesota Twins Lineup

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Byron Buxton - Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros
Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It’s been a tough week for the Minnesota Twins, who are trying to avoid a three-game sweep this afternoon in Houston against the Astros. Losers in seven of their last nine games, the Twins are floating dangerously close to that .500 number again, at 36-34. Once again, injuries are to blame.

Let’s first focus on this weekend, where the MLB injury monster has re-targeted the Twins’ position players, after decimating the pitching staff earlier this week (more on that momentarily).

It started Friday, when Royce Lewis strained his left hamstring running to first base (again), the same hamstring that put him on the injured list for the first month-plus of the season. Lewis has since been placed back on the IL.

Byron Buxton scratched from Minnesota Twins lineup

Then Saturday, Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch that forced him out of game two in Houston. Twins fans breathed a sigh of relief late this morning, when Buxton was written into Sunday’s starting lineup. That optimism faded quickly when, about an hour later, Buck was scratched and replaced with Harrison Bader in center field.

The most brutal part of Buxton injuries over the past few weeks is how well he’s been playing. Prior to his collision with Correa, Byron had been the Minnesota Twins’ most consistent player, not just from a statistical standpoint, but as a fixture in the lineup too.

Related: Another MN Twins Starter Dealing with Multiple Injuries

Prior to his collision with Correa, Byron played in 41 of the Twins’ first 44 games this season. Minnesota will play its 71st game of 2025 today. Buxton has been on the field for 54 of those contests, posting a .273 BA, .840 OPS, 131 OPS+ and team-leading 2.1 WAR — all built on 11 HR, 39 R, 41 RBI and 12-of-12 on stolen bases.

So, the hits just keep on coming for the 2025 Minnesota Twins. As we know, this is a team that has struggled with injuries since spring training, when Royce Lewis injured his hamstring the first time and Brooks Lee went on the IL with back pain.

Injuries continue to haunt Twins

Finally, Twins’ injury situation started to improve on May 6, when Lewis made his 2025 debut, giving Minnesota a lineup featured Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Lewis for about a week, something that, entering the season, hadn’t happened more than about 40 times since Royce’s MLB debut in 2022.

But then, on May 15, Correa and Buxton collided in shallow centerfield, which began a tidal wave of injuries all over the roster. First, the minor league mound in Sacramento, temporary home of the Athletics, sent both Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews to the injured list with shoulder injuries.

The A’s batter’s box cost Correa a couple games too, but he was the lucky one, being both starters will be on the IL for months. To add salt on the Twins’ wounds, we found out that SP Bailey Ober has been pitching with a hip and knee injury since spring training.

Related: Minnesota Twins Pitcher Receives Death Threats After Latest Start

Ober’s committed to pitching through his injuries but has looked horrendous in his last two starts. We still do not know how long Royce Lewis is expected to be on the IL. Hopefully, Buxton was scratched out of an abundance of caution, and not because further testing revealed more to his injury than just a bruise.

As soon as we know, you’ll know. Until then, prayers up, Minnesota Twins fans.

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