It's no secret that Byron Buxton has struggled to remain healthy throughout his 12-season MLB career. It's not as if all of his injuries were muscle pulls, either; he has suffered numerous injuries due to being hit by pitches and collisions with walls and teammates. Buxton may have been blessed with elite athleticism, but he sure hasn't been blessed with a body of steel.
During the top of the fifth inning in his first game for Team USA during the 2026 World Baseball Classic against Team Brazil at Daikin Park in Houston early last month, Buxton was hit by a pitch in his right forearm. He remained in the game on the bases and scored, but he exited the matchup during the bottom half of the inning, with Pete Crow-Armstrong replacing the Twins star in center field. Twins fans were panicking, but X-rays revealed he was fine.
Byron Buxton left Team USA’s game against Brazil tonight after being hit by a pitch. pic.twitter.com/SlD6ZbiOt6
— Puckett's Pond (@PuckettsPond) March 7, 2026
A similar situation occurred during the seventh inning of the Twins' home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. On a 1-2 count against right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly, Buxton was hit in the right arm by a 92 mph fastball. He immediately called for a trainer and promptly exited the game.
Byron Buxton got hit on the right arm by a 92 mph fastball, called for a trainer, and immediately left the game. pic.twitter.com/QEfGYEhXAn
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 3, 2026
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton's X-rays negative after being hit by pitch in forearm against Rays
After Buxton exited in the seventh, the Twins put up seven runs in the inning, capped off by shortstop Tristan Gray's first career grand slam. While Twins fans were happy with the score of the game, it was hard to be too content given the uncertainty of Buxton's injury status. Luckily, The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman reported shortly after Buxton left the game that the center fielder suffered a right forearm contusion and X-rays were negative. Phew!
Byron Buxton: "Sore arm. It ain't broken, so I'm good."
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) April 4, 2026
The Twins ended up winning the game 10-4. Given the positive Buxton news and the victory, it was a good day to be a Twins fan, even though the game was delayed about an hour because of a power outage.
There's not a lot of hope among Twins Territory these days. The Athletic proved that. If Buxton were to miss a significant amount of time due to an injury this early in the season, fan optimism would be even lower, even after the team won two games in a row and is one win away from a .500 record.
If the Twins were to make a surprise Wild Card run (I know, it seems unlikely), it's hard to imagine Buxton, a 2025 Silver Slugger Award Winner, wouldn't play a key part in it. Luckily, he's mostly healthy for now.