HOUSTON -- Twins star Byron Buxton received an MRI exam and was held out of Monday’s series opener against the Astros with a recurrence of right hip discomfort, manager Derek Shelton said.
Buxton served as the designated hitter for the Twins in Sunday’s win against the Rockies, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Shelton felt that some of his swings looked awkward, and he and head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta spoke with the slugger after the game.
“He’s dealing with a little hip thing that’s going on,” Shelton said. “We had some imaging done, we’re waiting to get back on it. Yesterday after watching him in the box, it didn’t look right to me, so we had a conversation. Just giving him a day.”
Buxton is a leading candidate to start for the American League in the All-Star Game next month, carrying a .268/.325/.573 slash line with 25 home runs. He missed time in mid-May with hip discomfort and then was limited to DH for a while when he jammed his shoulder, but he has not been on the injured list this year.
For now, Shelton is hopeful that Buxton will not need an IL stint for this latest issue either.
“I think right now we’re at a day-to-day place,” Shelton said. “Really never want to get any farther than that. I think over the course of the last week we’ve seen how well he’s moved. We’ve seen him on the bases. Just yesterday it just didn’t look as comfortable.”