Byron Buxton making Minnesota Twins 2020 debut Tuesday night
Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins congratulates teammate Jason Castro #15 on a solo home run against the Houston Astros during the third inning of the game on May 2, 2019 at Target Field. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins will host the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night for their home opener in an empty Target Field, and they’ll have a familiar face back in center field.
Byron Buxton is in the lineup and batting ninth. He missed the opening series in Chicago while continuing to recover from a sprain in his left foot. He arrived to Twins’ Summer Camp a few days late after the birth of his second child, and a few days in, suffered a left foot injury while chasing a Nelson Cruz fly ball during an intra squad game.
Buxton went down after making a cut, and had to be carted off the field without putting any weight on his left leg. Multiple scans and tests taken that night and the following day showed no structural damage to the foot.
It’s the latest in a series of injuries for the fastest players in baseball. Buxton missed the last month of last season, including the playoffs, after having to have shoulder surgery following a collision at the outfield wall in Miami.
"When he’s on the field, he has game-changing abilities and we see it defensively, what he can do on the bases, and offensively when he’s going good," Derek Falvey, Twins president of baseball operations, said before Tuesday night's home opener at Target Field. "I know he’s ready to do that. For him to be back on the field tonight, I know he’s itching to get out there."
In his absence over the weekend, Jake Cave hit a first-inning grand slam Sunday as the Twins beat the White Sox 14-2 to finish the opening series 2-1.