Byron Buxton, in another slump, held out of lineup as Twins plot future moves

SEATTLE — The Twins' plan to keep Byron Buxton in their lineup by keeping him out of the outfield has worked probably better than even they expected. Except for a two-week stretch in June after he was hit in the ribs by a pitch, Buxton has appeared in all but seven games.

The Twins, however, aren't reaping the rewards they expected from an everyday Buxton. Their designated hitter too frequently … doesn't.

"We know what his swing looks like when he's [hitting well], and right now he's not finding it easily," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Buxton, who was out of the lineup Tuesday in the midst of a long hitting drought. "He's going to keep working, as are our hitting guys. He's just going through a little bit of a tough time."

Tough times have come more frequently this season. Over his eight-year career, Buxton has endured six hitless stretches lasting more than 20 plate appearances — and four of them have occurred this season, including his current 0-for-22, plus another in 2022. Buxton is 1-for-31 since July 5, with 16 strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .196. More than half of his 54 hits are for extra bases, including 15 home runs, yet his slugging percentage has dropped to .409.

The reason for this sudden streakiness isn't clear, but the Twins are hopeful that getting Buxton to utilize his legs more might help make him more consistent.

"He's working hard to get his lower half into the equation, [but] it hasn't come as easily as we talk about it," Baldelli said. "For him to stay through the ball, kind of level his swing out a little bit, he knows he has to incorporate that lower half as well as he can."

Of course, that lower half includes his right knee, which was surgically repaired last September and is largely responsible for limiting him to designated-hitter duties. Whether it's hampering his swing isn't clear, but Baldelli said Buxton is healthy enough to play.

He might not bat third or fourth every day, however.

"I've thought about [moving him down in the lineup] but I haven't made any final calls on that. It's something that's been considered," Baldelli said. "I'll address it, whether it's making the decision to leave him where he's at, or to move him. That will be addressed sometime soon."

Another decision that Baldelli is preparing to make, along with the front office: What happens to Edouard Julien when Jorge Polanco returns from the injured list?

Polanco is on a rehab assignment with Class AAA St. Paul, and with his hamstring strain seemingly healed, will likely rejoin the Twins when they return to Target Field this weekend.

His rookie replacement, however, is as hot as Buxton is cold. Julien has hit in six straight games, going 13-for-21 (.619) with two home runs and only three strikeouts in that time.

"That's a legit [decision] that's coming our way right now," Baldelli said. "We want Polo back. Polo's one of our best players. He's a guy we're going to need this year. If we're going to go to the playoffs and win a World Series, we're going to need Jorge Polanco to be a big part of it."

Trouble is, a team that's had so much trouble scoring runs this season doesn't want to send one of its hottest hitters back to the minors. So what will the Twins do with two second basemen?

"I don't know what we're going to do," Baldelli said. "You need a lot of good players to reach your goals. We'll take them both and we'll figure it out. I'm just not sure what the answer is going to be."

For his part, Julien played first base, third base and the outfield in the minor leagues before the Twins settled on second base, where he has played exclusively in the majors.

"It's been a while. But if you give me a couple of days, I'll be ready to go play anywhere else," the 24-year-old rookie said. "I don't really care where they put me. I'll be able to do my best. I'm just here to help the team win."

Max Kepler on tripping over his bat during Monday's game, but getting up and still reaching second base with a double: "It reminded me of some vintage Ben Revere tumbling. I don't know who it was, if it was [coach Hank] Conger or [Mariners first baseman Ty] France, but someone was like, 'You've still got it! You've still got it! I hesitated, but I kept going because of that."

The St. Paul Saints lost 1-0 on Tuesday to the Omaha Storm Chasers on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning in Papillion, Neb. The Saints were unable to get any offense going behind a strong start by Randy Dobnak, who threw six scoreless innings. Dobnak has allowed just four runs in his past 22 innings.