Twins' Byron Buxton: Facing long-term absence
Manager Rocco Baldelli said after Monday's 7-5 win over the Reds in 12 innings that while the Twins don't yet have a concrete timeline for Buxton's (hand) return, "The thought of weeks or a month or two could probably be a way to think about it," Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
After he was struck by a pitch in the fourth inning, Buxton was initially diagnosed with a left hand contusion and was able to stay in the game. However, he ultimately exited in the sixth and later underwent imaging, which revealed a "boxer's fracture" -- an injury to the base of the pinkie finger -- on his left hand. This is a devastating setback for Buxton, who was playing in only his third game Monday since returning from a six-week absence due to a hip strain. A clearer timeline for his return should emerge in the coming days, but the comments from his skipper point to the 27-year-old potentially being sidelined until August, if not longer.
