![\"Minnesota\u00a0Twins\u00a0infielder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/luke-scaled-e1788133063702.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Trying to remain relevant in the playoff picture got impossibly harder for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday as they\u2019re without their two best players.<\/p>\n
Once again, a team that\u2019s been thin on experienced talent since February is facing another round of adversity after Byron Buxton was placed on the injured list before a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n
After seeing minimal, if any, improvement in his sore right hip, Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL. The Twins still hold out hope Buxton can return this season, but for now, a club clinging to a shred of hope in the American League wild-card race must proceed forward without Buxton and a rehabbing Joe Ryan, who is scheduled to make a start for AAA St. Paul on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
To stay in the chase, the Twins desperately need collective performances such as Sunday\u2019s when Zebby Matthews provided a dominant start and the lineup pieced together enough offense to avoid a sweep at the hands of Chicago. In his latest gem, Matthews was perfect into the sixth inning and allowed one run over 8 1\/3 innings with five strikeouts and no walks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll never feel down on ourselves or feel like we\u2019re out of it,\u201d Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. \u201cA month is a long time. A lot can happen. We understand we\u2019ve got another two-week stretch here of really, really important games. We\u2019re not going to fret and just keep working.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Luke Keaschall, who homered, singled and walked Sunday, is one of several young Twins who have made big gains during the season (Nick Wosika \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
The positive message filtering out of the clubhouse has been the same all year. Twins players have banded together and chosen a glass-is-half-full view all season.<\/p>\n
The reality is, the Twins have been undermanned most of the season. Before things got going, they lost one of their top performers, Pablo L\u00f3pez. Then they started the season with the seventh-lowest payroll in baseball, and manager Derek Shelton was tasked with constructing a bullpen during the season after everyone was traded in July 2025.<\/p>\n
As they played catch-up, the Twins did a good job adding depth at the trade deadline. But to remain relevant all season, as team chairman Tom Pohlad suggested they would, not only did Buxton and Ryan have to star and stay on the field, but also the club was always going to need big performances from a young position core.<\/p>\n
Luke Keaschall, who homered, singled and walked Sunday, and Brooks Lee have made big gains. The Twins went 5-0 this month in games started by Matthews. Though he slowed down this month, Jeffers has delivered, too.<\/p>\n
With Buxton out and Ryan\u2019s return uncertain, the Twins need even more from their young core. Though rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper and center fielder Walker Jenkins, who made his debut Friday, have plenty of talent, it\u2019s a big ask late in the season.<\/p>\n
Still, Twins players continue to hope despite the grim reality waiting right around the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got guys in this clubhouse that can get hot,\u201d said veteran Josh Bell, who had two two-out RBI singles. \u201cBuck can score from first base on anything, so it\u2019s definitely different. We will definitely have to find ways to manufacture the runs. \u2026 It would be great to have (Buxton) with a .900 OPS. But it seems like our additions, we have that spark, a little bit of youth, a bit of speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shelton, who, along with athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, was presented a gold card for 25 years in the majors Sunday, used the postgame ceremony to briefly address his players.<\/p>\n
He recognizes his team is only 9-17 in August and that it trails Chicago by 7 1\/2 games, but he pushed the idea the team\u2019s rough stretch is over and there\u2019s still time to get going.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level of belief in that room has never wavered,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cI\u2019m focused on us. We need to continue to play good baseball. If we play good baseball, we\u2019ll see how the chips fall from there, but I think it\u2019s more on us than it is anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are several more thoughts after a frustrating weekend against Chicago.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ryan, who is on the IL with a mild left glute strain, is excited about the progress he\u2019s made as he heads to Nebraska for the first time. On Tuesday, Ryan is scheduled to pitch for Triple-A St. Paul in Omaha after receiving the all-clear after a brief bullpen session Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
On the 15-day IL retroactive to Aug. 6, Ryan\u2019s been in good spirits since he pitched live batting practice Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFacing hitters was the biggest one, right?\u201d Ryan told reporters. \u201cI haven\u2019t done that in a second, and then I haven\u2019t really done that feeling like I have control over my body and not compensating for a couple, a little bit longer than that. So good to just get out there and feel a little bit more free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Buxton\u2019s lingering hip issue isn\u2019t only a source of frustration; it could require an offseason surgical procedure. After Buxton hinted Wednesday he would eventually work with Twins trainers to devise an offseason plan for his hip, general manager Jeremy Zoll told reporters Friday surgery is possible.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It\u2019s) definitely a potential option as we sort through everything,\u201d Zoll said. \u201cIt would be some type of hip procedure, but not at that point right now. \u2026 (We) just need to see how these symptoms progress over this next stretch, and then we\u2019ll continue to assess options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shelton said Sunday morning Buxton didn\u2019t progress enough over the weekend to avoid an IL stint and it\u2019s a source of frustration for the three-time All-Star.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just magically snap our fingers and all of a sudden it\u2019s the Jetsons and he\u2019s healthy,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cIf he could, it would be a lot cooler that way \u2026 in terms of it just automatically getting better. We just need to give it time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Where would the Twins be without Matthews? The club is 6-1 in his last seven starts, a span in which he\u2019s posted a 3.21 ERA with 35 strikeouts and only 11 walks over 42 innings. More importantly, Matthews has yielded only four homers in those seven starts after allowing 15 in his first 70 innings this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really impressive,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cHe kept them off balance. He was efficient. He set the tone. Much-needed victory for us because we\u2019ve been in a tough stretch. \u2026 It was a statement piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jenkins didn\u2019t play a big part in Sunday\u2019s victory as his lone contribution was a nice catch in deep center field. But similar to Culpepper\u2019s first 3 1\/2 weeks, Shelton thought Jenkins looked at ease during the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely more to come,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cHe\u2019s super athletic, and I think we\u2019re just going to see him continue to check off boxes, much like Kaelen did coming to the big leagues. \u2026 The game has not looked fast for him, and I think that\u2019s really important in the early going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Trying to remain relevant in the playoff picture got impossibly harder for the Minnesota Twins on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2326,363,99],"class_list":["post-831393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-minnesota-twins","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}