Byron Buxton’s batting averaged dropped to .196 after he went 0-for-5 Monday night in Seattle, marking a season low in what has been a disastrous campaign while batting in the heart of the Minnesota Twins lineup.
Since his 3-for-4 game on the Fourth of July, Buxton is 1-for-31 with 16 strikeouts. It’s his third stretch this season where he’s gone hitless in at least 20 consecutive at-bats. Currently, he’s 0-for-22 since hitting a single against the Orioles on July 8. Earlier this season, he had streaks of 0-for-24 and 0-for-26.
“Another guy who’s as accountable as anybody when it comes to this. I can tell you no one’s more frustrated about this than Byron is. He is looking at this, trying to understand what he needs to do to get more on track,” said Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations during a Tuesday interview with Chad Hartman on WCCO Radio.
“He is working everyday to try and figure out how he can be a big part of this,” Falvey continued. “It’s been a challenge for him and it’s not something we’re taking lightly and certainly trying to figure out on a daily basis, but I believe in the talent that Byron Buxton brings to the field every day.
“I know that he can give us that kind of boost as we go. There’s been a few stretches here, even in the last couple weeks, where it’s felt like, ‘Well, if that ball goes three inches further in center field or gets down the line in a way that you’d hope that maybe it gets him going on the right track. He’s hit the ball hard. We need to get a little bit more production on a regular basis out of him. He knows it and he’ll continue to work to make sure that happens.”
When challenged by Hartman that Buxton’s struggles, which have been season long, are more than “three more feet,” Falvey said “the facts are the facts” and added:
“Our focus is controlling what we can control, which is his preparation, which is his routine. He’s had stretches where he’s shown the talent, and his work habits and the way he’s gone about it have been the same. Certainly from what we know from where Byron’s at now and physically being able to get out there and hit the way he can, he has hit the ball hard at times. Those are the things that you look for to say, ‘Hey, is the swing changing? Is there something going on that looks like he’s not physically capable of getting to what he needs to get to? We’re not seeing that.”
Related: Calls for action on Byron Buxton after another disastrous game
The Twins have said that Buxton isn’t playing center field – he’s been the DH in every game he’s played this season – because of a lingering knee injury, but Falvey’s words Tuesday suggest that Buxton’s health isn’t a factor in his offensive struggles.
The Twins are keeping Buxton out of the lineup Tuesday night in Seattle. Instead, Matt Wallner will be the designated hitter. It’ll be Wallner’s first action since getting called up from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.
The question now is if Buxton is getting more than one day off.
“I don’t know that, to be honest,” Falvey answered. “Ultimately, [manager Rocco Baldelli] evaluates that on a daily basis. I’ve never written out a lineup for a team I’ve been a part of in my career.”
Falvey was also asked about the upcoming MLB trade deadline. He didn’t get into specifics but said “we could add some pieces” and “we’re going to seek to do so,” though he said it with the caveat that he expects the current roster to be the catalyst for a second half surge.
“If we get the production we want out of some of the guys we just talked about…hopefully we put ourselves in a position to do some real damage in the postseason,” Falvey said.
