MILWAUKEE (AP) — Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton has joined shortstop Carlos Correa on the 7-day concussion injured list after the teammates collided while chasing a shallow fly ball in a Thursday afternoon game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Buxton was placed on the injured list before the Twins’ Saturday night game at Milwaukee. Correa had been added to the injured list a day earlier.
“There’s a reason why this is the type of injury we have these types of protocols — many, many steps and clearances you have to go through,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said before Saturday’s game, prior to Buxton’s move to the concussion injured list was announced. “Because there’s not an easy way to diagnose and treat and monitor. You have to be thoughtful.”
In the third inning of the Twins’ 4-0 victory Thursday, Correa retreated to the outfield grass for the ball while Buxton raced in and appeared to call for it at the last second before they banged heads. Bench coach Jayce Tingler, filling in for Baldelli because of an illness, indicated after the game that the crowd noise hampered their communication during the play.
Buxton has been limited by injuries for much of his career — his 102 games played last year represented his highest total since 2017 — but he had appeared in 41 of Minnesota’s first 44 games before this collision. The 31-year-old is batting .261 with a .312 on-base percentage, 10 homers, 27 RBIs and eight steals.
The 30-year-old Correa had missed just three games this season before the collision — all scheduled rest days — after being limited to 86 games last season because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Correa, a three-time All-Star, is hitting .236 with a .274 on-base percentage, two homers and 13 RBIs this season.
For a second straight game, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. started in Buxton’s place at center field and Brooks Lee filled in for Correa at shortstop. Utilityman Willi Castro also was out of the starting lineup Saturday after fouling a ball off his right knee a night earlier in a 3-0 victory at Milwaukee that marked the Twins’ 12th consecutive win.
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