Twins place Byron Buxton on injured list, recall Edouard Julien from St. Paul

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Byron Buxton’s sore hip has improved enough, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday, that he could return to the lineup “in the next two or three or four days.” But the Twins decided they can’t play shorthanded that long.

Buxton went on the 10-day injured list, with infielder Edouard Julien recalled from Class AAA St. Paul to replace him, a move that means the center fielder won’t take part in the seven-day road trip to Texas and San Diego, but could return immediately upon the Twins’ return to Target Field late next week.

“There are some other players that are probably also going to need to be off at some point over the next handful of days,” Baldelli explained, because the Twins are in the middle of a 14-games-in-13-days stretch. “We just can’t play short for almost a week to do that.”

Buxton didn’t travel to Texas with the team on Wednesday night, but the Twins had left open the possibility that if he felt ready to play on Thursday, he could fly down separately and rejoin the team.

“It was like, is he going to be available tomorrow to play? And the answer was, probably not,” Baldelli said. “Actually, it was, almost certainly not, so at that point, let’s just put him on the IL.”

Buxton was given a cortisone shot to help him heal, and Julien flew in during the afternoon from Indianapolis, where the Saints are playing this week.

“It’s all about growing up and being smart as well. You have to do what’s best for you and also what’s best for the team,” said Buxton, who worked out with Carlos Correa at Target Field on Thursday. “Me playing hurt ain’t going to do anything for the team. I figured that out a few years in the past.”

Not that there was much doubt after his five-inning, two-run debut against the Royals on Tuesday, but Zebby Matthews has earned another start, Baldelli confirmed.

With six starting pitchers on their roster, the Twins had to choose whether to keep Matthews or Louie Varland, who gave up three runs over six innings on Wednesday. Matthews flew to Texas with the team and is tentatively scheduled to face the Padres on Monday, while Varland was optioned back to St. Paul.

It’s the fourth time this season that Varland spent one day on the Twins’ roster, then immediately returned to the minors.

“Both pitched well on back-to-back days. That’s a great thing for us,” Baldelli said. And when he broke the news to Varland after the game, “Louis was great. I wish every conversation was as direct and productive as the conversation I had with Lou.”

For now, Varland will remain a starter, Baldelli said, but “everything is on the table” regarding his role if the Twins need him in September and beyond.

To fill Varland’s roster spot, the Twins called up righthander Ronny Henriquez, who appeared in one game in April, June and July and has yet to allow a run.

Baldelli walked into the Twins’ clubhouse shortly before batting practice and made an unusual announcement: “We’re letting the band in.”

A seven-piece Puerto Rican band marched in and began playing, the finale of a series of surprises his wife, Gabby, arranged for Christian Vázquez to celebrate him reaching 10 years of major-league service.

“I was not expecting that. My wife — she’s in trouble,” Vázquez said with a laugh. “Yeah, she made all this [happen],” he said, gesturing toward the band and his locker, full of balloons with “10″ and the logos of the Red Sox, Astros and Twins on them. His parents arrived from Puerto Rico to surprise him, too.

“Very, very special day. It’s been a long ride, a long road. Lot of bumps in the ride, but we made it,” said Vázquez, who played for World Series winners in Boston in 2018 and Houston in 2022. “Very humble, very thankful for this.”

* The Twins will play 32 Grapefruit League games next spring, 17 of them at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla., beginning on Feb. 22 against the Braves. Spring training wraps up with a game against the Rockies on March 25, before Opening Day in St. Louis on March 27.