2 min read • June 23, 2022
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The Twins were without star centerfielder Byron Buxton for the second straight game on Thursday as he nurses lingering right knee tendonitis.
That play itself didn't cause the lingering ailment but it was the first instance of the soreness being so extreme that Buxton couldn't play.
The patella tendinitis, however, will continue to linger throughout the season and may require more than just day-to-day rest, according to the ProBaseballDocs.
The good news, according to the Docs, is this is purely a pain management issue and he can – and has all season – play through without surgery.
Because it will linger and has already caused Buxton to miss double-digit games the parties may elect to give the 29-year-old a PRP injection in his knee to promote healing, which would require a short trip to the IL.
Baldelli said on Thursday that he doesn't see the value of sending his leadoff hitter to the IL as he would anticipate the soreness returning after a few games back.
Ideally the PRP would tone the soreness down to allow for longer stretches of consecutive games played.
Buxton has yet to play in more than nine straight games, which he did from June 8 to June 17 immediately preceding his current flare-up.
The former No. 2 overall pick has emerged as one of the best sluggers in baseball this season, bashing 19 home runs, driving in 33 runs and scoring another 38 runs in 193 at-bats.
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Byron Buxton had a pretty heavy wrap around his right leg as he walked out of the clubhouse postgame. Rocco: "He was wanting to play, but he couldn't move around well enough to play today."
