Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Twins continue to get healthier. On Friday night, they got Byron Buxton back against the Seattle Mariners. He landed on the concussion list a couple of days after colliding with Carlos Correa in shallow center field back on May 15.
His return comes almost a week after Correa’s. Buxton was placed on the seven-day concussion list, just one day before Buxton was. Before that brutal collision, their teammate Royce Lewis had just returned from the injured list, which he landed on during Spring Training.
Since getting back in the lineup, Royce has yet to find his offense and the kid’s confidence has taken a HUGE hit, which he made clear to reporters the other day. Oh, and don’t forget the loss of Pablo Lopez to the 15-day injured list, in between his 10 starts of 2.75 ERA and 1.012 WHIP dominance.
Matt Wallner not yet ready for a return to the Minnesota Twins lineup…?
Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Then, there is outfielder Matt Wallner, who strained his left hamstring back on April 15. He sat on the injured list for over a month, before starting a rehab assignment on May 21 at Triple-A St. Paul. All he has done with the Saints is mash, batting .320 with a 1.330 OPS, piling up 5 homers and 13 RBI in just six games.
Sounds like he’s ready for a return right? Well, that’s what we all thought. Earlier on Friday, Dan Hayes (The Athletic) even reported that “looks like” Wallner would return to the Minnesota Twins lineup on Saturday.
Related: Three Weaknesses the Minnesota Twins Should Address Before MLB Trade Deadline
Then, just hours later, Betsy Helfand (Pioneer Press) reported that Matt will not be in the big league lineup tomorrow. He will, however, be in the Saints lineup for a seventh-straight game…
Matt Wallner has today off and is scheduled to play in another rehab game on Saturday.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) May 31, 2025
To this point, we have not gotten further explanation on why the Minnesota Twins are requiring Matt Wallner to play in so many rehab games, before bringing him back up to the big leagues. Technically, they could keep the Forest Lake, MN native down in St. Paul until June 10, when his 20-day rehab assignment would expire.
Hopefully, it doesn’t take near that long. Not only has he been destroying the confidence of minor league pitchers, but prior to exiting the Twins’ lineup, he was one of their best and most reliable hitters, batting .263 with a .847 OPS, 5 doubles, 2 triples and one home run.
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