Byron Buxton ready to be back in center field for Twins

Jim Rich sits down with Twins CF Byron Buxton

Thursday at Minnesota Twins Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla., Jim Rich sat down with center fielder Byron Buxton.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Twins are in their first full week of Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla., and you won’t find a player happier to be back on the field than Byron Buxton.

The star center fielder’s last few seasons have been marred by injuries. Buxton played in just 85 games last season for the Twins, all as a designated hitter, none in the outfield. He appeared in one playoff game, and hit .207 for the season with 17 home runs.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli talks Byron Buxton

Thursday at Spring Training, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he's excited to have center fielder Byron Buxton back healthy for the 2024 season.

He had a knee procedure in the offseason, and said before Spring Training it’s the best he’s felt in a long time. Thursday at Spring Training, FOX 9’s Jim Rich sat down with Buxton to talk about picture day and the year ahead.

When the Twins open the season in late March, it’ll hopefully be the first time in nearly two seasons that Buxton is in the outfield.

"Just a normal day. We got Spring Training for me to practice that, so go out there and treat it as a normal day. Obviously it’s been a while, but the more normal I treat it the more normal the day will be for me to go out there and do my job," Buxton said.

Buxton is hoping to help lead the Twins making a playoff run, after the team won its first playoff game in 19 tries and first series in 21 years last season.

"We got a monkey off the back. When you get a monkey off the back, the pressure is gone. Now that that turned into a hungry itch to want to get back, that was fun. That’s what you want to play for," Buxton said.