Update on when Byron Buxton might return to center field gives concerning message

Rocco Baldelli's tone in discussing Byron Buxton's health status sounded like a parent who has grown tired of hearing "Are we there yet?" from the backseat.

The Twins manager didn't necessarily come across as angry at my line of Buxton questions Tuesday in his office, but he was emphatic with a clear intent. Had his words been typed out in a text message, they would have been put in capital letters: Stop asking about Buxton playing center field because it's not going to happen anytime soon.

"Physically, he cannot play in the field," Baldelli said. "If we even thought that it was possible that he could play in the outfield right now, he would be out there. But he can't. He physically can't."

That wasn't even the most jolting comment Baldelli offered about why Buxton has been strictly limited to a designated hitter role this season. Baldelli revealed that Buxton's limitations coming off right knee surgery last season remain largely unchanged, despite the team's calculated plan to minimize the physical toll he endures by keeping him out of the outfield.

"He's kind of treading water physically just DHing at this point," Baldelli said. "Where he's not really getting worse, but it's not really getting closer to him playing in the outfield to his point in the season."

Treading water. As a designated hitter.

That answers a frequent question from outside observers who wonder how Buxton can be healthy enough to hit and run the bases but not healthy enough to chase down fly balls in the outfield. He's treading water physically just doing one facet of the game.

It's almost July. The season's halfway point is near. And Baldelli is telling us that Buxton is no closer to playing center field than when they started the season.

"Nothing has really gone up or down on that scale since the beginning of the year," he said. "It hasn't gotten closer. It hasn't gotten further away. He is basically in a similar spot."

Alarms should be blaring with that acknowledgement. This isn't just any player. Buxton is viewed — and compensated — as an organizational cornerstone, someone whom Baldelli referred to last April as "absolutely one of the best players in the world."

Buxton and Carlos Correa are the team's two most important position players. The organization didn't sign Buxton to a seven-year, $100 million contract in November 2021 with the idea of him being a full-time designated hitter. His full value is predicated on him playing Gold Glove defense in center field.

Buxton is 29 with an injury history a mile long. He has 5½ years left on his contract, at $15 million annually. Lest anyone need a reminder, the human body generally doesn't improve with age.

So how is this situation going to improve? What if it doesn't? Sorry to sound like Debbie Downer, but this development is sobering.

A stint on the injured list might sound like a smart option, but again, Buxton is healthy enough to have a role, just not a full role.

Buxton's struggles offensively since returning from a rib injury have brought renewed attention to his status. He ended an 0-for-24 streak Tuesday with two hits, including a home run, in a blowout loss to the Red Sox, and then doubled off the right field wall in his first plate appearance Wednesday. He also struck out twice.

The Twins need Buxton's bat to heat up because he can't impact the game with his defense right now, and it's uncertain when that will happen again. Baldelli sounded eager to stop getting asked about it.

"Instead of us dwelling on that every day and going, 'Oh, man, can he?' … No, he can't," he said. "And that's medically — doctors, trainers, watching him go out there and DH where he's just hitting and running the bases. You add it all together and it's not really a question, because it's something that's been beyond pondered and we know the answer."