Twins notes: Buxton reinjures wrist

DETROIT – Twins outfield prospect Byron Buxton has had a setback with his left wrist and will undergo an MRI exam early next week, Twins director of minor leagues Brad Steil said Saturday.

Buxton reinjured his wrist while sliding into a base Thursday at Class A Fort Myers. He was a late scratch from the Miracle's game on Friday against Jupiter. He did not play on Saturday, and Sunday is an off day.

"He will have an MRI this week to compare it to his MRI from the spring," Steil said.

Buxton first injured his wrist on March 16 while diving for a ball during a minor league spring training game. He ended up being shut down for several weeks because the area he sprained, the pisotriquetral joint, is usually slow to heal. He eventually played in extended spring training games before joining Class A Fort Myers on May 4.

In five games last week, Buxton was 3-for-20 (.150) with one homer, two RBI, no walks, eight strikeouts and no stolen bases. The plan was for him to play at Fort Myers until he was sharp enough to move on to Class AA New Britain.

There was hope Buxton would progress enough to make his major league debut this season. The wrist injury has put that in doubt for a player who was the consensus pick as the top prospect in baseball.

Danny Santana and Brian Dozier are just getting to know each other as double-play partners, so everything might not good smoothly.

"I was assuming he was going to go to first base," Dozier said, "but I'm not going to knock him for going to second."

Dozier failed to catch the throw. Alex Avila dashed for home, and Dozier picked up the ball and threw wildly home, drawing an error.

"He tried to get the out at second and it turned into a mess," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

The pink bats have arrived for the Mother's Day game — Major League Baseball's movement to raise awareness about breast cancer. Dozier, Chris Colabello, Aaron Hicks, Trevor Plouffe and Jason Kubel will use them Sunday. Dozier and Plouffe are taking things to another level, with pink wrist bands and sunglasses.

Joe Mauer returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing five games because of a sore lower back. He was 1-for-3 with a walk as the designated hitter.

"It was good to get back out there, definitely,'' he said. "I still feel it, and I'm definitely stiff right now, but I'm good to get back out there.''

Mauer said he was available to pinch hit Saturday and woke up feeling well enough to play.

• Plouffe had played in all 34 games before getting a break Saturday. He's batting .128 over his past 11 games, although he's had a few hard-hit outs.

• The Tigers honored former manager Jim Leyland before the game. He addressed the crowd and listed Game 163 against the Twins as one of his biggest memories.