Twins takeaways: Ryan secures All-Star nod, Buxton is bruised, Keaschall heads South
Instead, the Twins took advantage of Monday's off day to move up Ryan's start to Friday — still on normal rest and against the Pirates — clearing the way for him to become a first-time All-Star. It meant a lot to Ryan, who felt snubbed when he was left off the initial All-Star roster earlier this week.
'It feels great,' Ryan said. 'I was at peace with what I've done. But getting the recognition is an honor and something I've wanted for a long time. But getting it now, it just feels extra special.'
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Ryan replaced Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown, who won't be available to pitch for the American League on Tuesday night because he's starting the first-half finale Sunday. It's all part of the process for All-Star selections, since someone needs to cover nine innings for each side.
There were no guarantees that moving up Ryan's start to Friday would get him onto the All-Star roster, but manager Rocco Baldelli felt strongly that the 29-year-old right-hander deserved the honor for an excellent first half and wanted to do anything possible to help his candidacy. It worked.
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Plus, it sets up a great pitching matchup Friday night at Target Field, with Ryan facing fellow All-Star right-hander Paul Skenes, whose final first-half start for the Pirates similarly moved up to Friday so the phenom could pitch — and possibly start — for the National League.
As an added bonus, the Ryan-Skenes matchup will be the opening act for a postgame concert by Nelly. It should be an entertaining Friday night at Target Field (weather permitting).
As expected, Byron Buxton was out of the lineup for Thursday's 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs after a 97.7 mph fastball hit his hand Wednesday. He initially remained in the game, stealing second base and coming around to score, but later left and underwent X-rays that came up negative.
Baldelli declined to speculate about when Buxton could rejoin the lineup, but said, 'I think he's going to be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he was back out there soon.'
Byron Buxton was hit in the hand/wrist area with a pitch, it did hit the guard he wears pic.twitter.com/IZ8JuW0dAR
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) July 9, 2025
Buxton has a very busy week ahead, with the Home Run Derby on Monday and the All-Star Game on Tuesday, all in front of his friends and family in Georgia. Baldelli indicated it's too soon to know if the hand injury could affect those plans.
'I think we're just going to be seeing how he is (Thursday) and (Friday),' Baldelli said. 'What he's capable of over the next couple days will basically give us that answer.'
This is the second All-Star selection for Buxton, who came back from knee surgeries in back-to-back seasons to lead AL center fielders in OPS (.881), homers (20), runs (60), RBIs (53) and fWAR (3.3). He accepted the Home Run Derby invite because his oldest of three sons, Brixton, loves the event.
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'Brix is probably the most excited,' Buxton said. 'He plays 'MLB The Show' and plays the Derby all the time. And he always is like, 'Dad, if you do this, I want to bring you a towel!' That's all he cares about. And for me, that's special. It's the small things that add up to the big ones.'
After working out with the Twins and taking live batting practice against fellow injury rehabber Zebby Matthews at Target Field this week, second baseman/outfielder Luke Keaschall is heading to Florida for the next step in his comeback from a fractured right forearm he sustained on April 25.
Luke Keaschall singled on the first pitch of his third at-bat against Zebby Matthews. Zebby earlier struck out Keirsey and got Clemens to ground out to first. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/V46sQGzxRb
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 8, 2025
Keaschall will likely spend time at the Twins' year-round complex in Fort Myers, taking more live batting practice, followed by a rehab assignment for his first game action in nearly three months. He's on track to potentially rejoin the Twins after the All-Star break.
A consensus top-100 prospect and reigning Twins minor-league player of the year, Keaschall made his big-league debut on April 18. He got hurt in his seventh game, but not before making a great first impression by hitting .368 with a .538 on-base percentage and five stolen bases.
(Photo of Joe Ryan: David Berding / Getty Images)
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