Byron Buxton cannot seem to catch a break. The star center fielder has been on the injured list twice since late July with a hip issue. Buxton's hip has clearly bothered him when he's been on the field over the past month or so, as he's had a significant drop-off in performance.
Minnesota removed Buxton from the Twins' 4-2 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Field on Tuesday night due to hip discomfort. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Buxton ran after a line drive from Henry Bolte into the right-center field gap. Buxton awkwardly reached down to grab the ball but missed it, allowing Bolte to reach third base.
Manager Derek Shelton and athletic trainer Jason Kirkman went onto the field to check on Buxton, who then exited the game.
Shelton told MLB.com's Matthew Leach that Wednesday is a scheduled off-day for Buxton anyway, so they're going to hold off on making any decisions for now and reevaluate the center fielder before Wednesday's game vs. the Athletics.
“I think we’ll wait and see,” Shelton said after Tuesday's loss. “He’s just too important to us. He was not going to play tomorrow anyway. … So we’ll see how he reports tomorrow.”
If Buxton needs another IL stint, it's time for the Twins to call up outfielder Walker Jenkins, FanGraphs' No. 4 overall MLB prospect.
The Twins are off on Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. It appears the Twins have no plans to make a roster decision before Wednesday's game, so Jenkins could make his MLB debut in front of the home fans on Friday.
Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins is clearly ready to make his MLB debut
Jenkins, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, has proved he's ready to make the jump to the majors. The 21-year-old outfielder has slashed .305/.406/.521 with 11 home runs, 17 doubles, three triples and 16 stolen bases over 68 games with Triple-A St. Paul this year. He's posted video-game numbers so far this month, slashing .406/.488/.768 with seven home runs.
Yes #MNTwins fans, he did it AGAIN. Make it a two homer game for @WalkerJenkins6. He had never had a two homer game in his career and now he has three in his last 13 games. He's 3-3 with two homers, three RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored. He came into today slashing .387… pic.twitter.com/cyRUiFzw5J
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) August 23, 2026
The Twins will have no good reason not to call up Jenkins if Buxton is placed on the IL. Even though Jenkins has been dominating Triple-A pitching lately, Minnesota's outfield is full with Buxton, Luke Keaschall and Trevor Larnach. But now that Buxton could be headed to the IL, there's a clear opening for Jenkins in center field.
One reason the Twins may hesitate to promote Jenkins is that he would be ineligible to play minor-league baseball next season if a lockout extends through the regular season, since players on the 40-man roster can't play in the minors during a lockout. But if the Twins are serious about making the playoffs this year, which they have proved they are by promoting Kaelen Culpepper and making several trade deadline moves, the looming lockout is not a good enough excuse to keep Jenkins in Triple-A.
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