The Minnesota Twins placed All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a rib injury.
The move, retroactive to Sunday, comes after Buxton was removed from the Twins’ game against the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning on Saturday with soreness in his side. An MRI on Sunday revealed irritation in the cartilage in his rib cage.
"Buck's doing fine, it's just he's not gonna be ready in the next day or two, and that's really all all it boils down to," says manager Rocco Baldelli. "We never say anything definitively, but, you know, we think there's a reasonable chance he'll be ready soon - sooner than later. But again, if he were gonna be ready tomorrow or that he would be back the first day after the off day in Cleveland, we would have rode this out and let him go. He's beginning to ramp up a little bit, but we're not there."
Buxton is in the midst of a career season. In 85 games, Buxton is hitting .282 with 23 home runs and 59 RBIs. He’s also 17 for 17 in stolen bases.
The 31-year-old has been mostly healthy this season, which has not always been the case. Since playing in 140 games in 2017, he hadn’t played in more than 102 games in any season.
Buxton spent 15 days on the IL in late May with a concussion and rebounded to earn his second All-Star Game nod.
Roster moves ahead of Wednesday's game
The team made another roster move on Wednesday prior to their rubber-match with the Boston Red Sox at Target Field.
The Twins recalled right-handed pitcher Noah Davis from Triple-A St. Paul. Davis, who was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 14, appeared in two games for the Saints recently, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings with no hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts.
To make room for Davis on the 26-man roster, the Twins have optioned right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl to St. Paul.
Ohl made his major league debut Tuesday night in a start against the Red Sox, taking the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in 3.0 innings pitched.
"I was really encouraged," Baldelli said after the game. "I think he came out with good stuff. He came out ready to go, made some really good pitches in the first inning, went out there and missed some bats and changed speeds real well against them. Overall, I thought he did a good job, but you know, he ended up having to work as the outing went on, had to make a bunch of pitches to get to get through hitters and get through innings. That happens, that's part of the game and good hitters make adjustments. He'll continue to make adjustments as he goes too."
The 25-year-old recorded all three of his outs in the first inning last night via strikeout, becoming the first pitcher in Twins history to do so as a starter in their debut.
"Yeah, I mean, it's what every kid dreams of, is making their major league debut and mine was by the team that drafted me back in 2021," said Ohl. "So that was super special, started off on a great foot, but yeah, I mean there's things to continue and there's things to change and I'm excited for what's to come."
Boston Red Sox (58-51, third in the AL East) vs. Minnesota Twins (51-56, fourth in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Wednesday, 12:10 p.m. Pregame at 11:30 a.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Brayan Bello (6-5, 3.32 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 79 strikeouts); Twins: Zebby Matthews (2-2, 4.97 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 38 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Twins -131, Red Sox +111; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox play on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
Minnesota is 51-56 overall and 30-23 at home. The Twins are 26-11 in games when they did not give up a home run.
Boston is 24-30 on the road and 58-51 overall. The Red Sox have the fifth-best team slugging percentage in MLB play at .428.
The matchup Wednesday is the sixth time these teams match up this season. The Twins hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Trevor Larnach has 13 home runs, 36 walks and 43 RBIs while hitting .241 for the Twins. Byron Buxton is 15 for 41 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.
Jarren Duran has 10 home runs, 38 walks and 56 RBIs while hitting .261 for the Red Sox. Alex Bregman is 11 for 36 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 4-6, .252 batting average, 5.37 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
Red Sox: 5-5, .216 batting average, 3.74 ERA, outscored by two runs
INJURIES: Twins: Carlos Correa: day-to-day (illness), Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (side soreness), Anthony Misiewicz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (hip), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm)
Red Sox: Marcelo Mayer: 10-Day IL (wrist), Hunter Dobbins: 15-Day IL (acl), Nick Burdi: 60-Day IL (knee), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (hip), Zack Kelly: 15-Day IL (oblique), Justin Slaten: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luis Guerrero: 15-Day IL (elbow), Josh Winckowski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (knee), Tanner Houck: 15-Day IL (flexor), Patrick Sandoval: 60-Day IL (elbow)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.