This one's been building for months. Buxton has bounced on and off the injured list all season with right hip trouble, and every time the Twins tried to manage it, it came right back. Now the guessing game is over: Buxton himself has confirmed he needs the surgery.
Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said last week that hip surgery "is definitely a potential option" for Byron Buxton. Good scoop from @nightengalejr, who got Buxton to confirm he will need surgery, but is waiting to see if he can play again this season: t.co/032oofFEiC
Zoll first floated the possibility last week, saying surgery was "definitely a potential option as we sort through everything." That's GM-speak for it's probably happening, and Buxton just made it official, confirming to reporters he'll need the procedure while the club waits to see if there's any window to get him back on the field first.
The injury history here is brutal. Buxton first hit the IL July 7 with a right hip strain, came back two weeks later, then landed right back on it July 29 with a hip impingement. He was activated August 13, but the discomfort forced him out of a game against Oakland almost immediately. Since that first IL stint, he's gone homerless in 64 plate appearances, hitting.172 with a 38 wRC+ — a shell of the All-Star who was slashing.271/.328/.525 with 25 home runs before the break.
It's a familiar and frustrating pattern for the 32-year-old former No. 2 overall pick. Buxton has been one of the most electric players in baseball when healthy — elite defense, blazing speed, real thump — but he's completed just 4 seasons with 100-plus games played since debuting back in 2015. The talent has never been the question. Staying on the field has.
For a Twins team that's leaned on Buxton as a centerpiece for a decade, this is a gut punch regardless of the exact timeline. If surgery does end his season, Minnesota heads into the winter with one of its best players facing a recovery clock instead of a lineup spot, and the front office will have to figure out how much they can realistically count on him going forward.