Byron Buxton is one of the most electric and exciting young stars in all of Major League Baseball.
Unfortunately, he has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries over the first few seasons of his career.
Though he has put together a solid season thus far, hitting .259 with 11 homers and 19 RBI, his knee has not fully recovered, which is why the Minnesota Twins have built in some scheduled off-days for their star center fielder.
Buxton appears to be okay with that, though.
Twins beat reporter Do-Hyoung Park tweeted Buxton’s comments on his scheduled off-days and what his current goals are for the 2022 season.
Byron Buxton, on his scheduled recovery days while his knee heals:
"We've got a process, process of me staying on the field, trying to play 100 games. So however that looks, who knows? But that's what we have, a plan here, and it's what we're going to stick to."
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) May 15, 2022
Load Management
Given the injury history for Buxton, 100 games is a realistic goal.
It means Buxton will still get scheduled off-days while his knee recovers, but that he’ll still play a key role in the Twins’ success and that he will be seeing a lot of playing time.
The Twins seem to have a good plan in place for their star center fielder, one that will allow him to be a key contributor and one that will allow him time to fully recover and be 100% for each game he plays in.
There is still a lot to be excited about if you’re a Twins fan watching Buxton develop into a superstar.
It makes sense though that the Twins are trying to be careful with things such as these as a means to manage his load.
It’s something we see more and more of in this day and age of baseball: load management.
It usually seems to work out just fine for the player whose load is being managed.
It should help Buxton get back to full strength while also allowing him to contribute.
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