The Twins activated top prospect Byron Buxton from the disabled list on Monday but the team decided to keep him at Triple-A Rochester.
Buxton won’t have to fly to Rochester because he reported their last week for a three-game rehab assignment. He went 5-for-12 with a double, 2 walks and a stolen base in those games.
Techincally, as Hardball Talk’s Aaron Gleeman points out, the decision to keep Buxton at Rochester is a demotion since his injury occurred with the Twins. He suffered a sprained thumb in a game against the White Sox more than six weeks ago.
Buxton was hitting just .189 when he was injured in his 11th major league game.
Instead of calling up the speedy Buxton, Minnesota will stick with Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario and Torii Hunter as the starting outfielders while Shane Robinson comes off the bench.
Where would Buxton even play? They're not going to bench Hicks and Rosario is probably a better hitter right now. https://t.co/lFKKDVk39Y
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) August 10, 2015
MLB Trade Rumors points out that Hicks has been great since taking over for Buxton, hitting .316 in 32 games.
Shane Robinson starts 2-3 times per week, Aaron Hicks has never hit righties, and Torii Hunter is 40. They could find some time for Buxton.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 10, 2015
I think discontent with Buxton demotion has more to do with wanting to watch him play than actually thinking he substantially improves team.
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) August 10, 2015
In other news, Buxton, like ex-Twins outfielder Denard Span, is a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings and Bucs meet in a preseason game at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday.
@JoeBringMN i knew they're were something special about that kid !
— Denard Span (@thisisdspan) August 10, 2015
