Byron Buxton injury update not expected until Friday

The 30-year-old Twins star is hoping for a healthy 2024. Is it more than soreness?

Apr 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) heads to the / Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Twins fans are bracing for bad news after Byron Buxton exited Thursday's game against the White Sox with right knee soreness.

Knee soreness for any regular player wouldn't sound alarm bells, but with Buxton, whose right knee has been problematic in his career, it's cause for concern. Especially when Twins manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed that Buxton would get an MRI done on his ailing joint.

"I really don’t have much more to add because I really don’t know at this point where else we’re going to sit," Baldelli said after Minnesota thumped Chicago for a 10th straight victory. "We do have an off-day [Thursday]. He’s been playing a good amount up until this point. We just played 13 in a row. We’re going to take advantage of that off day, get some rest, assess kind of where we’re at physically."

Ryan Jefferson, who has blossomed as the best-hitting catcher in the majors this season, told MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park that Buxton was in good spirits after the game. But even so, Buxton's 2022 and 2023 seasons were cut short by knee injuries that required surgery.

He had an arthroscopic surgery performed on his right knee in September 2022 and then underwent another surgery in October 2023. That surgery led to him feeling great during spring training, though clearly in a spot where soreness cannot be avoided. The 30-year-old had started just four of the previous nine games, resting some due to soreness, before he left Thursday's game in the second inning.

Losing Buxton for any amount of time would be bad news, but it might sting a bit more if he winds up on the injured list when the Twins are about to face the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 pitching staffs in 10 of the next 13 games.