Apr 3, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) hits an infield single against the Houston Astros during first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

Twins' Byron Buxton not in the lineup for a second straight game

Originally posted on Minnesota Twins on SI
By Joe Nelson | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 11:49 AM ET

After the Twins beat the Royals without Byron Buxton in the lineup Wednesday night, they're going to try and do the same again Thursday afternoon. For some reason, Buxton is not in the lineup for a second consecutive day.

The starting lineup:

Matt Wallner, RF
Willi Castro, 2B
Carlos Correa, SS
Trevor Larnach, LF
Ty France, 1B
Ryan Jeffers, C
Eddy Julien, DH
Jose Miranda, 3B
Harrison Bader, CF

Is he possibly sore after crashing into the outfield wall on Monday? He did hit the wall hard when attempting to track down Jonathan India's double to start Monday's game between the Twins and Royals. But he stayed in the game and played again Tuesday — and the Twins have said nothing about Buxton's health to indicate something might be wrong.

Is Buxton just out of the lineup because he's struggling? He's 7-for-41 with 16 strikeouts this season.

And his whiff rate — 46.1% — is in the bottom one percentile this season, meaning he's swinging and missing as much as pretty much any player in the majors. He's whiffing on 59.1% of the time on breaking balls, 55.6% against offspeed pitches, and 37.8% of the time on fastballs, according to Baseball Savant.

Buxton is also 0-for-7 with two strikeouts in his career against Royals starter Michael Wacha. But batter versus pitcher stats clearly aren't factoring much into the lineup because Christian Vazquez isn't starting and he's 7-for-13 lifetime against Wacha.

Maybe we'll learn more, but for now this just appears to be Buxton sitting on getaway day before the Twins host the Tigers at Target Field Friday-Sunday.