Being able to hear a pin drop is not the way anyone would expect a fan base to be reacting during a 10 game winning streak. That’s been the case since Wednesday afternoon for Minnesota Twins fans, though, as all attention has been focused on the health of Byron Buxton.
After leaving Wednesday’s win over the White Sox in the second inning, there’s been a nervous energy humming in the background of everything good going on for the Twins.
Objectively things are awesome, as an offense that had been anemic to start the year has scored 66 runs over the last week. The Twins have surged back into position to take over the AL Central, and the team has adopted a health code violation that doubles as its lucky charm.
None of that mattered once Buxton limped off the field, and nobody could relax until we found out what the extent of the injury was. On Friday we found out, and thankfully the MRI results revealed that things weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been.
Twins avoid a nightmare scenario with latest Byron Buxton injury update
Buxton hitting the 10-day IL isn’t ideal, but it’s hardly the bad news that could have dropped after what happened.
Despite the unfortunate news of an IL tripl, there are two incredible bright spots to consider: Austin Martin is back with the Twins as Buck’s replacement and the MRI results showed that there was no damage to Buxton’s knee.
Byron Buxton’s MRI found no damage in his knee, but it’s still sore, so he’ll go on IL and Austin Martin will return.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) May 3, 2024
It’s impossible to overstate just how much of a relief that is.
Royce Lewis came up lame in a similar way on Opening Day and remains out with a right quad strain. That’s the first thing most Twins fans thought of when Buxton pulled up short of second base, in addition to getting doused in the proverbial cold water of all his previous injuries.
The fact that this isn’t as serious as it could have been and won’t require surgery to fix is amazing news. Buxton will still miss time, which is still a bummer, but he won’t be out nearly as long as he could have been. It’s also an opportunity for him to rest and ensure that he’s healthy for the months that truly matter and can have the All-Star impact everyone knows he’s capable of.