Buxton, Dobnak, prospects returning soon

MINNEAPOLIS -- Byron Buxton was back on the field in Minneapolis on Monday and Tuesday, taking pregame warmups with his teammates. Soon, he hopes, he'll be back in uniform and in the lineup with them, too.

"Just to be out here on the field and see the progress of where things are is a positive state of mind for me," Buxton said. "Just about going out there and getting the reps in and getting back stronger."

Buxton has been hitting, fielding and running the bases, and he will get on his feet for a third straight day on Wednesday and meet with Dr. Christopher Camp, the team physician, as they continue to evaluate the healing of his broken left hand and finalize the next steps for his recovery.

That could involve another rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul if all goes well, which manager Rocco Baldelli indicated would likely be necessary due to the extended time away from the field for Buxton, who was sidelined on June 21 when he was hit by a pitch in a home game against the Reds.

Baldelli understood that could likely be a frustrating time in St. Paul for Buxton -- who already spent a three-game rehab assignment across the river in June as part of his recovery from a right hip strain -- but it's likely for the benefit of all involved, and Buxton understands that.

"They get to a point where they just want to get back and play, but I don’t want to let any frustration get in the way of doing the right thing," Baldelli said. "I want to make sure that he is healthy and confident and able in every way when he rejoins us, and he’s been out for a little while."

"I guess he's doing what he's supposed to do, which is protect us from ourselves," Buxton said. "I have to see what he says as far as whether I've got to go play at St. Paul or not."

Along with his limited on-field work, Buxton said that he stood in for some pitches against Triple-A pitchers Drew Strotman and Yennier Cano, among others, while the Twins were on their last three-city road trip, to keep his eyes fresh. He was hitting .369/.409/.767 at the time of this latest injury.

Dobnak eager for return to mound
As the Twins take this time to evaluate their young arms of the future with Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober and Charlie Barnes holding down rotation spots, Randy Dobnak has watched frustrated from the sidelines. He'd likely have been part of that picture, looking to rebound from a tough start to his season, had he been healthy.

But he isn't healthy or able to take part -- and it's all the tougher because his sprained middle finger is the first injury that's ever sidelined him, he said, in his life.

He did take a meaningful step towards his return on Monday, when he felt normal after a 25-pitch bullpen session at Target Field, with another likely to follow in several days. Dobnak, who last pitched on June 19 and had to shut down his original comeback attempt in the weeks following the injury, still hopes that he can build up to a full starter's workload before the end of this season with a few rehab starts.

"This is one of those things where it wasn't going away, and that's something I've never dealt with before," Dobnak said. "I talked to some guys and said, 'What do you do when you're hurting?' They're like, 'Be patient.' It sucks. It's really hard to be patient."

The rotation picture could be a bit more complicated by then, since right-hander Joe Ryan, acquired in the Nelson Cruz trade with Tampa Bay, and Lewis Thorpe could also be in the mix for outings at that point.

Twins not overly concerned about Duran, Winder
Despite shutting down pitching prospect Josh Winder with right shoulder impingement and sending him to the Minor League injured list on Saturday, the Twins aren't worried about their No. 14 prospect, with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey noting that the move could also help keep some extra mileage off the 24-year-old's arm coming off the 2020 shutdown.

"We want to be thoughtful of the volume coming off of last year," Falvey said. "A lot of guys haven't had a lot of innings. Again, we view him as a long-term starter, so we just want to take it day by day. We'll react to his symptoms or any type of issue as we go forward."

Similarly, Falvey hopes that fellow top pitching prospect Jhoan Duran, ranked No. 5 in the organization, could still return to the mound this season, with the hope that Duran will have a normal buildup from a right elbow strain sustained in June, all the way back to a starter's workload.

"I hope so. We'll see," Falvey said. "Definitely, with the initial prognosis, what we hoped to see, now, we hope to return him. And then when we return him, we'll see how that takes us. But I'm hopeful."

Worth noting
• Josh Donaldson was back in the Twins' starting lineup as the designated hitter on Tuesday for his first start since Friday's 11-inning victory in Houston. The Twins will evaluate how he gets through the game, with the hope that he'll be able to take advantage of Thursday's off-day and return to third base by Friday's series opener against Tampa Bay.

• Hitting coach Edgar Varela will be away from the team for an unspecified period of time, Baldelli said, after traveling home to Fort Myers, Fla., to attend to family matters.

"We do expect him back relatively soon, but know that he has to take some time away from the ballpark right now," Baldelli said.