Twins’ Byron Buxton expected to go on rehab assignment with Saints this week

It appears Byron Buxton will play his first-ever games in Nebraska this week, a good sign that he will be playing in Minnesota again soon.

The Twins center fielder is likely to join the St. Paul Saints on a rehabilitation assignment before returning to the major league roster, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, “and I think we’re getting closer to that,” he added. “I don’t think it’ll be a long rehab assignment, but he probably will go on one.”

Buxton, out since Aug. 12 because of a sore hip, won’t be activated until the Twins are sure he can play the outfield again. Baldelli ruled out easing him back in as a designated hitter for a few days.

“We’re at our best when he’s in center field,” the manager said. “We need to get him ready to play the outfield.”

No specific dates have been decided upon, but the Class AAA Saints are set to open a six-day series with the Omaha Storm Chasers on Tuesday night, giving Buxton plenty of time to play a few games and return to the Twins before their homestand ends Sunday.

The Twins, and the several dozen other pro sports teams that are televised by Diamond Sports Group’s Bally Sports regional networks, might finally learn next week whether the networks will remain on the air.

A hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3, in the Houston courtroom of federal bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez, who will ultimately rule on whether to allow Diamond to implement its new business plan or order the company to shut down.

The latter possibility remains unlikely, especially after Diamond confirmed last week that it has reached agreements with 13 NBA teams and seven NHL teams, including the Timberwolves and Wild on Bally Sports North, to broadcast their games in the upcoming 2024-25 season. According to Sports Business Journal, the NBA teams have agreed to reductions between 30% and 40% of their previous rights fees, and the NHL teams roughly 20%.

But Amazon, which earlier this year announced it would pay Diamond $115 million in order to steam games on its Prime app, has withdrawn that offer, SBJ reported Monday. How that affects Diamond’s chances of receiving Lopez’s approval next week remains to be seen, especially since Major League Baseball has been outspoken in its skepticism that Diamond remains a viable business in an era of cord-cutting.

“If Diamond continues to exist, you can make an argument in some markets that the status quo with Diamond would be good for those clubs,” Twins President Dave St. Peter said last week. “We don’t have a long-term contract with them, so our situation is different. Diamond could be an option under the right circumstances for us, but there are other options, and we are actively exploring those.”

The Twins are committed to providing a direct-to-consumer streaming option next year and beyond, St. Peter reiterated, something the team hoped to do this season until the uncertainly surrounding Diamond’s bankruptcy lingered too long for them to find another partner.

“It’s been a long, drawn-out process,” St. Peter said, “More than anything, we’re looking forward to Judge Lopez resolving this case so we can make informed decisions about how we’ll be broadcast in the future.”

Max Kepler ran on the field before Monday’s game in order to test his left knee, one day after knee soreness kept him out of the lineup. He missed Monday’s game, too, but Baldelli said an MRI test found no evidence of a serious injury, just “normal wear and tear for this time of year.”