Twins Activate 3-Time All-Star Before 'Field of Dreams' Game
Newsweek · C · trust 15/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Minnesota Twins will welcome back a key player just in time for Thursday's "Field of Dreams" showcase.
Minnesota heads to Dyersville, Iowa, to play the Philadelphia Phillies at the site of the classic 1989 movie. Byron Buxton is coming with them.
The Twins reinstated Buxton from the injured list on Thursday afternoon. He had missed Minnesota's last 14 games with a right hip impingement.
Buxton followed a breakout 2025 by receiving his third All-Star nod, but the elected starter missed the Midsummer Classic during a separate IL stint due to his hip. Those absences have interrupted another strong season for the 32-year-old outfielder, who is batting .263/.320/.544 with 25 home runs in 82 games.
Injuries have proven a common theme throughout Buxton's career. He fell short of 400 plate appearances in seven straight seasons before tallying 542 over 126 games last year, and he's yet to exceed 140 games since joining the Twins in 2015.
A healthy Buxton nevertheless remains one of baseball's premier players. He still ranks eighth in FanGraphs' WAR among outfielders since the start of 2024, slugging .541 during that stretch.
Buxton returns to a Twins lineup with baseball's 12th-best team OPS (.725) entering Thursday. Luke Keaschall frequently patrolled center field with Buxton's sidelined, but he'll move to right field with Buxton returning to center and batting second on Thursday.
Minnesota will hope to get a jolt from Buxton in the thick of a tight American League playoff race. At 60-62, they're three games behind the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central lead and a half-game below the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers for the league's final wild-card spot.
Netflix will exclusively stream Thursday's "Field of Dreams" game at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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