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Twins’ Byron Buxton limited to pinch-hitting appearance Friday night

paul hodowanic, pioneer press
·4 min read

After “showing a lot of improvement” from where he was a couple of days ago, Rocco Baldelli called on Byron Buxton to pinch hit during Friday’s game, his first appearance in three games as the center fielder continues to deal with a right knee injury.

Baldelli said before the series opener against the Colorado Rockies on Friday that Buxton’s movement was still an issue and kept him from starting the center fielder for the game. However, he did say Buxton was available off the bench if needed.

And in the eighth inning, he was.

Trailing 1-0 with a runner on first and no outs, Baldelli called on Buxton, pinch hitting him for Gilberto Celestino. But it didn’t generate the spark Baldelli was looking for as Buxton struck out.

Still, it was a good sign for the center fielder, who Baldelli said is dealing with “a severe chronic case of tendinitis which leads to severe swelling.”

After doing very limited activities over the past several days, Buxton went through some pregame work on Friday, throwing lightly and hitting in the cages.

Baldelli’s hope pregame was that if they held Buxton out on Friday, he’d be available in a full capacity role on Saturday,

“Getting him lined up to play tomorrow and getting him ready for the week to come, I think, is on our mind right now,” Balldelli said Friday.

Baldelli did acknowledge if Buxton did sub-in during the game, that could affect their hopes of him playing on Saturday as the Twins continue to be cautious with their star player and hope to avoid a stint on the injured list.

Pitcher limits
Much has been made of the bind that reinstated pitcher limits have put managers in, which has forced many teams, including Minnesota, to move from 14 to 13 pitchers on its active roster.

It’s certainly been the case for the Twins as they’ve dealt with shaky bullpen performances in recent weeks, capped off by two blown leads this week to Cleveland.

But with one less pitcher, that has allowed an extra bench player, which has been a welcome luxury for Baldelli.

“We have days where it’s very challenging if you only have three bench players and one, and sometimes two of them, are questionable or not available,” Baldelli said. “It’s a little scary going into some of those games because you have an injury and then you’re one issue away from a pitcher having to go in. No one wants to be in that situation.”

It’s certainly been the case during Buxton’s latest absence. The team has been more comfortable keeping Buxton off the injured list because they have that extra spot to play with. And Baldelli said it could be a feather in the cap for players later in the season too that the team previously felt needed to go to the injured list to ensure they had enough active players ready in case they needed them.

Still, Baldelli admitted it’s still only “slightly helpful,” especially during stretches of the season like the team is in now, with 11 games in 10 days. For that reason, it’s likely Baldelli will have to trust his relievers to get out of jams more frequently.

“We can’t be running out there every seventh inning because a guy doesn’t look good in the first two hitters right now,” Baldelli said. “We just can’t make that work. We can’t use six pitchers in three innings to win games. We know that.”

Exhibit A: the Twins’ use of Joe Smith during Thursday’s 1-0 win over Cleveland. Smith quickly loaded the bases without registering an out, but was left to finish the inning and forced two fielder’s choice plays to home plate before ending the inning on a flyout.

Polanco progressing
Jorge Polanco (low back tightness) resumed baseball activities on Friday, signaling he’s closer to a potential reactivation from the injured list. The team is eying a return on Monday or Tuesday, Baldelli said.

“That’s what we’re aiming for. We’ll see how the baseball on-field stuff goes over the next day or two,” Baldelli said.
Polanco has missed the last 10 games and was eligible to be activated from the injured list on Thursday but has remained on the list as the injury has persisted.

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