MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Twins placed two more regulars on the injured list Thursday, with center fielder Byron Buxton and catcher Mitch Garver joining third baseman Josh Donaldson on the sideline.
Buxton has inflammation in his left shoulder, which he had surgery on almost a year ago. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said this issue is not connected to the labrum tear that required the operation. Buxton aggravated the discomfort with his headfirst slide into home Tuesday for the winning run in the 12th inning against Milwaukee. He’s batting .221 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 21 games this season.
Garver has a mild intercostal muscle strain on his right side, an injury suffered while swinging Wednesday against the Brewers. He’s hitting .154 with one homer and two RBIs in 17 games.
Donaldson missed his 18th straight game Thursday with a strained right calf. Starting pitcher Homer Bailey has also been on the injured list for the last three weeks with right biceps tendinitis.
Outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. and catcher Ryan Jeffers were called up to fill in for Buxton and Garver. Jeffers, the team’s second-round draft pick in 2018, batted .296 with 21 homers and 82 RBIs in 167 games over his first two minor league seasons, finishing 2019 with Double-A Pensacola. He was in the lineup Thursday for his major league debut.
The Twins also made a bullpen move by optioning left-hander Lewis Thorpe to their alternate training site and recalled right-hander Zack Littell.
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