Put Byron on IL?

[PatPfund]

My answer is 'yes', the Twins should just bite the bullet, and put Byron on the IL.

Maybe it was seeing Byron ‘live’ for the first time Wednesday, but the Twins’ plan to load manage Buxton is NOT working.

As someone with a sometime gimpy knee on my back hitting leg, things looked sadly familiar. General loss of speed showing in Byron being an easy out on a roller to third (out sure; but by that many steps?). Loss of pop/hitting due to unstable foundation showing as barreled balls come down on the track instead of the second deck (and more weak grounders than barrels).

A few days ago, a gap ball sailed right past him. Healthy Byron catches that 100 times out of a 100, but when you are concentrating as much on balancing knee load as on the ball, that play is a natural result. Sure he came back with a spurt the next day to make a fantastic grab, but the day after that he was DHing.

Load management sounds great to keep a player healthy, but is there ANY sign Byron is getting better, or even holding his own? (The 0-26 hitting run would say, ‘no’.)

Put him on the IL, and get him healthy. If that had been done earlier in the year, he might be back to 100%  by now. Keep putting it off, and his unhealthy knee could get worse. Or crop into something worse (as it did with the strained hip). Or cost us any chance at seeing him 100% in a post-season game. (Let alone make the pre-season.)

(I was all for sending Royce back down, but he is an easy call up to keep the lineup potent, just as he did to help get Correa healthy. Make the move.)

[LA VIkes Fan]

Like this idea. It's only 10 days and the next 8 are games against KC and Detroit. He would probably miss the Toronto series 6/3-5, although he could come back on 6/5, and be ready for the Yankees at home starting Tuesday, June 7.  This would give him time to hopefully clear things up through the All Star break. 

[USAFChief]

I said thus when the "our goal is 100 games" strategy came out.

Unless it's a situation that will not resolve no matter what, IL him.

 

[stringer bell]

I know that the people making load management decisions have far more information on Buxton and they are able to consult with medical professionals who come up with treatment plans for a living. That said, it really doesn’t seem to be working. It’s quite possible that even after Buck would be activated that the plan would be to continue to give Buxton frequent days off. 

[Cap'n Piranha]

I've been saying this for a month.  Unless it's a chronic issue that can't be fixed absent a surgery that will require 2-3 months recovery, what is the point of playing games with Buxton injuries?  Get him healed up.

This should be an even easier choice with how well Celestino is playing, both in the field and at the plate.

Finally, even if it is a chronic thing that needs surgery to correct--is having Buxton play through that actually a good idea?  I vote no.

[walkstar89]

I think one of the issues is that, from what I have read about knee tendinitis, a 10 day IL stint would in no way be enough for Buxton.  In fact, total rest might not actually help as much as "active rest". Read this excellent article from Canis Hoopis (regarding Anthony Edwards struggling with the same thing).  If a 10 day IL stint was what would help, I'm sure the team would do it

https://www.canishoopus.com/2022/3/10/22971292/what-is-patellar-tendinopathy

 

 

[Cap'n Piranha]

1 minute ago, stringer bell said:

I know that the people making load management decisions have far more information on Buxton and they are able to consult with medical professionals who come up with treatment plans for a living. That said, it really doesn’t seem to be working. It’s quite possible that even after Buck would be activated that the plan would be to continue to give Buxton frequent days off. 

Agreed--it's not working.  I also don't think people really have a problem with giving Buxton a day off here or there, it just shouldn't be every series.  I've mentioned before that my rule of thumb is the 5 in 6 standard.  If a guy can't play in 5 out of every 6 games (because of injury), then he should immediately be placed on the IL.

[bean5302]

Buxton has played in 8 games over the past 10 days/games. Works out to 130 games a year at that pace.

If the argument is Buxton must be hurting because he's no longer putting up numbers which make him look like the best hitter in baseball history, my rebuttal would be, he probably never was the best hitter in MLB history. Slumps, even undeserved ones, happen. Buxton's expected numbers are better than his actual, but it's such a small sample size over the past couple weeks there's just noise.

The IL doesn't fix luck and the minor knee tweak was over a month ago.

[stringer bell]

13 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

 

The IL doesn't fix luck and the minor knee tweak was over a month ago.

It has been reported in the past week to ten days that the load management plan is in place due to continuing knee issues. 

[rwilfong86]

I think tonight he breaks out of his slump and has a big game ?

[Cap'n Piranha]

5 minutes ago, walkstar89 said:

I think one of the issues is that, from what I have read about knee tendinitis, a 10 day IL stint would in no way be enough for Buxton.  In fact, total rest might not actually help as much as "active rest". Read this excellent article from Canis Hoopis (regarding Anthony Edwards struggling with the same thing).  If a 10 day IL stint was what would help, I'm sure the team would do it

https://www.canishoopus.com/2022/3/10/22971292/what-is-patellar-tendinopathy

 

 

Interesting.

What struck me was the idea that all knee issues are different--this means we can't definitively say what would work for Buxton; perhaps 10 days of doing leg workouts in a pool would be of benefit.  Either way, unless you want to call what's happening right now just a slump, it's clear something is wrong with Buxton, and playing through it is not helping.

[LA VIkes Fan]

52 minutes ago, walkstar89 said:

I think one of the issues is that, from what I have read about knee tendinitis, a 10 day IL stint would in no way be enough for Buxton.  In fact, total rest might not actually help as much as "active rest". Read this excellent article from Canis Hoopis (regarding Anthony Edwards struggling with the same thing).  If a 10 day IL stint was what would help, I'm sure the team would do it

https://www.canishoopus.com/2022/3/10/22971292/what-is-patellar-tendinopathy

 

 

interesting article. It sounds like "active rest" is exactly what the Twins are doing wiht Buxton. It also looks like a 10 day Il stint isn't going ot help much and may even be counterproductive. It seems like what they're doing may be the right to do. 

[CRF]

Whether or not the knee issue is still bothering him enough to be a problem at the plate or in the field, I don't think any of us know. At some point, we have to trust their judgement and their process. I don't know if going on the IL is the way to go. My feeling is no. At least not right now. I'm sure he's getting treatment on the knee every day. The start he got off to this season, was fantastic and better than he probably actually is...and the slump he's in right now, is much worse than he actually is. I'm sure teams/scouts/pitchers have made adjustments based on that hot start, to get him out, and Buxton has to make adjustments to their adjustments to find his hitting groove again. He's always been a streaky hitter anyway, not a consistent on base machine.  

[walkstar89]

5 hours ago, Cap'n Piranha said:

Interesting.

What struck me was the idea that all knee issues are different--this means we can't definitively say what would work for Buxton; perhaps 10 days of doing leg workouts in a pool would be of benefit.  Either way, unless you want to call what's happening right now just a slump, it's clear something is wrong with Buxton, and playing through it is not helping.

Yeah, I guess I'm not sure. It absolutely could be a slump...it's a really small sample size. Or of course it could be his injuries. 

[bean5302]

6 hours ago, stringer bell said:

It has been reported in the past week to ten days that the load management plan is in place due to continuing knee issues. 

....and? He's played in 8 of the last 10 games which, again, works out to a 130 game per season pace.

https://www.mlb.com/news/byron-buxton-battling-slump-knee-injury

This is from today, not the past week to ten days. To paraphrase, it's mild, getting better and it doesn't hamper Buxton's play regularly.

[USAFChief]

If he can't run, which the 9th tonight is pretty solid evidence, then he probably needs IL time.

[tony&rodney]

It was disappointing to know that Buxton was not a threat as a baserunner in the 9th inning last night. Buxton as a threat influences the pitch choice and the pitcher's motion. Last night, he didn't get any more attention than Sanchez or Urshela. I don't know what the answer is but I do hope Byron can heal enough to be effective.

[Number3]

The time line is there for all to see. Buxton pre injury and Buxton post injury. From mid .300 average (can't expect that to last anyway) to current .202. I guess the notion that just having him available leads to wins is a little exaggerated. Put him on the IL and be done with it. Up comes Lewis.

[Rosterman]

The thought of putting him on the IL now for 15-days (or whatever) is strong. Bring up Royce Lewis to play cenetrfield (or one of the corners) everyday during that time.

Or, at least, bat Byron 9th. Even Kepler, at his worse, wasn't this bad of a leadoff hitter.

[chpettit19]

Everything coming out of Minneapolis suggests the knee is slowly, but surely, getting better. It was worse when he first came back from the missed games right after the injury and he was mashing then. It's entirely possible this is just a slump. He's had some hard hit balls that were at people, or even the very nice catch by Benintendi last night. Obviously a horrible slump and him snapping out of it is hugely important for the Twins, but I'm going to guess they have some pretty smart people making medical decisions about him. From what I read a 10 day IL stint wouldn't be the answer medically. If that's the case then they seem to be doing the right thing. He's still hitting the ball hard so there's hope that it turns around soon.