Twins place Byron Buxton on injured list, option Louie Varland to St. Paul – Twin Cities

The Twins made a series of personnel moves prior to the first pitch against the Rangers Thursday night in Arlington, Texas, most notably placing Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list with soreness in his right hip.

Buxton pulled himself after taking an at-bat in Monday’s 8-3 victory over Kansas City and hasn’t played since. An MRI exam on the hip was negative, but manager Rocco Baldelli said Wednesday the Twins want to give him time to heal. The center fielder is not in Texas with the team.

The move is retroactive to Monday. To take Buxton’s place on the 26-man active roster, the Twins recalled infielder Edouard Julien from Class AAA St. Paul. In 14 games with the Saints after being optioned in late July, Julien hit .263 with six doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and a .382 on-base percentage.

In addition, the Twins optioned Louie Varland back to St. Paul. The right-hander threw his first big league quality start of the season in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Royals. To take his place on the active roster, the Twins recalled right-hander Ronny Henriquez from the Saints.

Varland was spot-starting for the Twins, who wanted to give their regular starters an extra day of rest before the current seven-game road series. Under MLB rules, he won’t be available for recall until Aug. 30.

Henriquez is 1-2 with a 3.44 earned-run average in 34 appearances (three starts) with the Saints this season.

Zebulon again…

With Varland unavailable for two weeks, it appears rookie Zebby Matthews will make his second major league start during a three-game series that starts Monday in San Diego.

Matthews was the winning pitcher in his MLB debut, a 13-3 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday.

Bailey Ober was the starter on Thursday, with Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Pablo Lopez scheduled to pitch the other three games in Texas. Baldelli said this week the Twins are unlikely to use a six-man rotation down the stretch. “I’m not getting too far ahead of myself right now, with anything,” the manager said. “Because ‘assume nothing’ — in all regards.”

Castro contract?

Willi Castro has been what you could call a “find.” Signed to a minor league contract before the 2023 season, he has become a key contributor to two good teams.

“I think Willi Castro is the MVP of this team,” Royce Lewis said this week.

Considered a fringe player in Detroit, who lets him walk as a free agent after the 2022 season, Castro is playing in a one-year, $3.3 million deal. Only 27, he is in line for his first major league multiyear deal.

Asked Wednesday if he has spoken to the Twins about one, the utility man said no, which makes sense because the Twins don’t typically talk contracts during the season.

“A lot of my teammates tell me I should be thinking about that,” Castro said, “but I’m just focused on this season.”

Through Wednesday, Castro was hitting .256 with a .338 on-base percentage, 41 extra-base hits — including a career-high nine homers — 69 runs scored and 44 RBIs while batting up and down the lineup. On Tuesday, Castro was given the team’s Heart and Hustle Award, voted on by current and former players.

Furthermore, heading into Thursday’s game, Castro has played in 119 of the team’s 120 games at positions as varied as shortstop, second base, third base, left field and center field, filling in for injured players such as Lewis and Carlos Correa.

“He’s a great player and he’s finally getting to put that on display for everybody, playing every day,” Lewis said. “I’m so proud of him. “He works so hard.”

Briefly

The Twins released their Hammond Stadium schedule for 2025 spring training games in Fort Myers, Fla. It can be found here at https://www.mlb.com/twins/spring-training.