Byron Buxton placed on 10-day injured list with hip strain [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The Twins placed Buxton on the 10-day injured list Friday with a Grade 2 hip strain, according to Aaron Gleeman. To replace Buxton on the 26-man roster, Minnesota is calling up Trevor Larnach from Triple-A St. Paul.

Minnesota Twins OF Byron Buxton was forced to leave Thursday’s game vs. the Texas Rangers due to a hip strain and is considered day-to-day. Buxton, who is in the midst of a breakout season, was pulled late in the game, which went to extra innings. Buxton went 1-for-5 with a run scored before being pulled in favor of Jake Cave.

For now the Twins are saying that Buxton is day-to-day, so there’s a chance he avoid a stint on the injured list. Minny has lost three games in a row to the Rangers, dropping the series 1-3 to fall to 11-19 on the season. Despite the Twins’ struggles, Buxton has been fantastic this season. He’s jumped into the AL MVP conversation at +1200 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Buxton is batting .370 with 9 HRs and 17 RBI in 92 ABs. His OPS is 1.180 through just 25 games.

The Twins are in a bit of a bind in the outfield if Buxton misses time. Buxton, Max Kepler and Kyle Garlick started on Thursday afternoon vs. the Rangers. Jake Cave entered the game for Buxton, so he’s likely to remain in the lineup. Rookie Alex Kirilloff was just placed on the injured list, so that’s another outfielder down for Minnesota. The Twins season is beginning to get lost in the AL Central. It’s still early but the Twins don’t have much optimism to compete with the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.