Puckett's Pond
Fansided

Minnesota Twins activate Byron Buxton and Marwin Gonzalez from injured list

By Chris Schad

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 1: Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins looks to the bench acknowledging his RBI single in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 1, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 1: Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins looks to the bench acknowledging his RBI single in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 1, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Minnesota Twins got some positive news as they’ll get their starting center fielder and utility man back for Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

After a week where the Minnesota Twins were ravaged by injuries and a pair of marathon games, the team finally got some good news prior to Saturday’s game with the Chicago White Sox. After missing a little over a week with their respective injuries, Minnesota activated Byron Buxton and Marwin Gonzalez from the injured list and both are in the lineup Saturday afternoon with Gonzalez hitting fifth and Buxton hitting ninth.

Gonzalez was sent to the injured list thanks to a hamstring injury, but was starting to heat up after a cold start to the season. The 30-year old utility man was hitting .304 with 4 HR and 9 RBI in the month of June prior to the injury and had brought his overall line to .255 with 9 HR and 25 RBI.

While getting Gonzalez’s bat in the lineup is nice, it will be his defense that will be welcomed with open arms. The Twins have had to rely on using infielder Luis Arraez in the outfield the past two games and recently sent Eddie Rosario to the injured list with a sprained ankle. Max Kepler has also been banged up while nursing a sore elbow.

Of course, the big news out of this is the activation of Buxton. The 25-year old has had an awakening in 2019 as he’s hit .266 with 9 HR, 38 RBI and 10 stolen bases despite hitting out of the ninth spot in the lineup. Like Gonzalez, Buxton’s biggest impact has come in the outfield where he has played Gold Glove defense to help out the Twins’ pitching staff.

Buxton wound up missing 13 games after being hit by a pitch on the wrist on June 14 and the Twins wound up going 6-7 over that stretch. On the season, the Twins have compiled a 10-10 record without Buxton in the lineup as opposed to 42-19 when he is in the lineup as pointed out by Baseball Prospectus’ Aaron Gleeman.

dark. Next. Breaking down the Twins in the MLB All-Star Futures Game

In corresponding moves, the Twins sent down outfielders Jake Cave and LaMonte Wade Jr., who were both called up to patch Minnesota’s injury woes. With Buxton and Gonzalez back in the fold, the Twins should have a little extra firepower leading into the All-Star break.

Home/Minnesota Twins News