Scoggins: The absence of the Twins’ big three is more than this season’s problem

The Twins played their 146th game Wednesday night, and for the 129th time, at least one of their three cornerstone players was not in the lineup.

Manager Rocco Baldelli has written the names of Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis in the lineup together only 17 times this season.

That’s 12% of the games.

That’s a problem, now and in forecasting the future, but the situation is improving by a step Friday when Buxton is expected to return from the injured list.

The list of reasons is extensive in explaining why the Twins have treated their stretch run of a playoff race like a marathon runner doubled over at mile 20, puking his guts out.

It hasn’t been just one area or one thing that caused their slide. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that a lineup constructed under a certain premise has failed to witness that exact premise in the flesh very often.

Buxton has played 90 games. Correa has played 75 games and currently is on the injured list. Lewis has played 66 games.

Together, as a trio, 17 games.

And we’re surprised that a lineup of fill-ins turned punchless the last month?

Talking about Twins injuries is tiresome because it’s never-ending. Every season, same thing. Injuries inevitably become a central theme. Maybe that’s true for most teams, but with the Twins, it’s never just about how many injuries but more so who is missing.

Using injuries as an excuse is a convenient way to deflect. What puts the situation with the Twins’ Big Three in its own category is that this isn’t an outlier that can be quickly dismissed as bad luck.

Correa has been hampered by plantar fasciitis in consecutive seasons. Buxton has been placed on the injured list 21 times in his professional career, including minor leagues. The start of Lewis’ career has been a series of stops-and-starts due to major injuries.

They have performed brilliantly individually at different times this season when healthy. But they’ve also had lengthy absences on the injured list — simultaneously, at times — and those persistent interruptions are doubly deflating because these are star players.

Let’s be clear about something: No one is blaming them for being injured. Players hate to be sidelined. But the accumulation of their injuries should be worrisome to the organization because all three players are in their prime years.

Buxton is 30. Correa turns 30 in a few weeks. Lewis is 25.

Different players, different ages, none of them old, but all tethered to an unfortunate reality.

That reality has contributed to this being an incredibly weird season. The Twins have a winning record and are clinging to a wild-card spot despite injuries, poor stretches and failed leadership by ownership.

This team has been so confounding that sometimes it’s hard to know how to even define the season. Depends on the week, I suppose.

Owner Joe Pohlad set a terrible tone back in spring training when, on the heels of the first playoff series win in forever, he slashed payroll and acknowledged publicly that he had no interest in pursuing top free agents because of the cost.

Had his last name been Johnson, that public relations blunder might have been forgotten. But since he’s a Pohlad, his admission managed to create more ill will with the fan base than already existed.

Doing next-to-nothing at the trade deadline for a roster that deserved and needed help amplified frustration.

The Twins are staggering down the stretch but still have time to get their stuff together. The lineup can be dangerous when healthy and intact. It would be nice to see that again.

Correa and Buxton took batting practice before the game Wednesday against minor league pitchers. The timetable for their return remains unknown though.

This should be a priority conversation for the organization in the offseason as well. The front office must explore every possible idea and avenue to determine what, if anything, can be done to minimize the injury disruptions that continue to sideline their three cornerstone players.

Correa, Buxton and Lewis are the faces of the organization. Seeing them on the field together so infrequently has been a bummer. Their reunion is getting closer.