Byron Buxton injury history: A complete recovery timeline for Twins star in MLB career
Sometimes, though, the term is warranted. Byron Buxton has been a star for the Twins since 2014. In that span, though, the center fielder has played in more than 92 games in a season just twice. The most he played was 140 in 2017, and the second most was 2024, when he logged 102 appearances. With Minnesota playing 162 games a season, it has been challenging for the franchise to sustain its success without its brightest star.
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Buxton's injuries have ranged from mild to severe. He has dealt with migraines, concussions, sprains, fractures, contusions, strains, inflammation, and subluxation.
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Here is a look at a complete injury timeline for Buxton in his MLB career.
Byron Buxton injury history
March 2014 - Buxton was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. He first got his chance to impress the big-league club at spring training two years later in 2014. Unfortunately, that is where his injuries began. Buxton was diving for a ball in spring training and sprained his left wrist, which forced him to begin the season on the IL.
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May 2014 - Buxton was activated on May 4. In just his fifth game of the season, he re-injured his wrist. This time, Buxton missed almost two months of action and was reactivated on July 6th.
June 2015 - Buxton began the 2015 season with Minnesota's Double-A Affiliate. He got his first major league call-up on June 14. Buxton played in 10 games and then sprained his thumb. He went on the IL and was activated on Aug. 10, finishing out the season in Triple-A.
July 2017 - 2016 was an uneventful year for Buxton — partially because he avoided a significant injury, but also because he was still trying to find his footing in the major leagues. He began the season as the starting center fielder, but he played poorly and was sent down to the minors. Buxton made his way back to the bigs in 2017. In July, he was added to the 10-day IL with a left groin strain and was activated on Aug. 1.
April 2018 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL due to migraine symptoms.
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May 2018 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL after fracturing a toe on his left foot. This resulted in him missing the remainder of the season. He was on a rehab assignment and qualified for September call-ups, but Minnesota opted not to use a spot on him, and the outfielder said, "That didn't go over well."
He told reporters, "I ain't sugarcoating nothing. I wouldn't say we're on the same page, but I ain't going to cause [trouble] between us. I want to be here. This is where I started my career, [and] this is where I want to finish my career, for my teammates, my brothers."
June 2019 - Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right wrist contusion and was activated on June 29.
July 2019 - Buxton was initially added to the 7-day IL due to concussion-like symptoms on July 16, retroactive to July 14. He was moved to the 10-day IL on July 23, but he was activated on July 25.
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August 2019 - Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL due to left shoulder subluxation. This is a fancy way of saying that he partially dislocated his shoulder. He was activated on Sept. 1, but he was then added to season-ending 60-day IL on Sept. 10, again due to left shoulder subluxation.
August 2020 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL due to left shoulder inflammation in the COVID-19 shortened season. He was activated on Sept. 1.
May 2021 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL with a right hip strain and was activated on June 19.
June 2021 - Three days after being activated, Buxton was again placed on the 10-day IL, this time with a fracture in his left hand. He missed two months and was activated on Aug. 27.
August 2022 - Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL with a low-grade right hip strain, but he missed the remainder of the season. He had arthroscopic knee surgery in September.
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June 2023 - Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to June 3 with a left rib contusion, and he was activated on June 15.
August 2023 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain that ended his regular season. He was activated on Oct. 2, and saw sparse playing time for the Twins in the 2023 ALDS against the Astros.
May 2024 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL due to right knee inflammation and was activated on May 18.
August 2024 - Buxton was added to the 10-day IL due to right hip inflammation and was activated on Sept. 12.
May 2025 - Buxton was added to the 7-day IL with a head injury and was activated on May 30.
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