The knee pain that Byron Buxton felt during his rehab assignment in St. Paul wasn't just a case of patella tendonitis, as the Twins first believed. A part of the lining around his right knee had also become inflamed — but that's a good thing. That, the Twins' medical staff could treat with a cortisone shot, which Buxton received on Sunday.
The result? "My impression [is] that he's going to play again this year," Nick Paparesta, the Twins' head athletic trainer, said.
Only 18 days remain in the Twins' season, but that's enough time for Buxton to recover, Paparesta said. If Buxton is fully healthy, he said, "We'll make it happen."
The Twins had prescribed simple rest and light workouts when Buxton first experienced the soreness on Sept. 1, two days after playing center field for the Saints, his first action in the outfield in more than a year. But a week later, Buxton's surgically repaired right knee still hurt when he rotated on it while batting.
"Conservative treatment for that week or so wasn't really getting the job done," Paparesta said, "so we needed to kind of take it to that next level."
The cortisone injection, aimed at quelling the pain in the lining of his knee below the patella tendon, called the medial plica, should take care of that, and Buxton will begin doing some rotational exercises on Thursday.
"I'll have a better idea after the Chicago series of where we're at in regards to his activity level," the trainer said. "We need to make sure [the pain] is cleared up and he feels strong and confident in that before we get rolling ahead."
On the mend
Chris Paddack struck out six Midland RockHounds over four innings for Class AA Wichita on Tuesday, his second rehab start as he returns from Tommy John elbow surgery. The righthander allowed four hits, including a home run, and two runs in a 58-pitch stint.
