SAN DIEGO – Green Day and Journey are gone, so Byron Buxton was back in the outfield Tuesday at Target Field, testing his right hip in hopes of returning to the Twins’ roster when they return home to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
“Today was the first day we had a chance to get him on the ground” because of the huge stages that occupied the ballpark for concerts while the Twins were in San Diego and in Texas, said Nick Paparesta, the Twins’ head athletic trainer. “He’s been hitting in the cage, throwing, doing outfield work. Things are going well, progressing along nicely.”
Buxton, who came out of the Twins’ game Aug. 12 with a sore hip that resulted from, doctors believe, scar tissue that built up after a similar injury in 2022, is eligible to be activated Friday.
“I would never rule that out,” Paparesta said. “The off day on Thursday gives us a chance to reconvene. I get a chance to talk to him and see face-to-face how things are going. I wouldn’t rule that out.”
Progress is coming more slowly for Carlos Correa, who on Friday will mark six weeks since a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot knocked him out of action.
Correa also ran Tuesday at Target Field, Paparesta said, and said his foot felt better than it did Sunday.
“We’re just kind of in a pain-management situation with Carlos, trying to make sure that we can keep him comfortable, see how each day goes,” Paparesta said. “He’s still having some discomfort. As cliché as it sounds, it’s truly day-to-day on how he’s going to feel and what we can do with him.”
Still, the trainer said, Correa has been hitting and fielding to stay as sharp as possible without putting too much pressure on his sore right foot.