Carlos Correa rejoined the Minnesota Twins lineup over the weekend. He had missed a week after suffering a concussion in a nasty collision with centerfielder Byron Buxton.
The other end of last week’s star-studded crash, Buxton continues to work his way through Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol. Byron did travel with the team to Florida and he “participated in outfield drills” pregame Monday, prior to the Twins 7-2 loss against the Rays.
Minnesota Twins will continue to wait on Byron Buxton…
Still, according to what manager Rocco Baldelli told Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune), the 31-year-old former No. 2 overall draft pick out of Baxley, GA still has some cognitive tests to pass and proverbial hills to climb before he’ll ready for a return to the Minnesota Twins lineup.
Byron Buxton, who remains on the seven-day concussion injured list, participated in outfield drills and ran the bases before Monday’s game in Tampa. “It’s going to take a little time, I think,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But he is here for a reason — because he is doing well.”
Buxton’s 1.9 fWAR continues to lead the Twins this season. He is batting .261/.312/.522 with five doubles, three triples, and ten home runs. The strikeout-to-walk ratio is ugly at 56/11, but Buxton has been a pillar of health thus far. Buxton is a perfect 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts and, per usual, he’s played exceptional defense in center field, as well.
Meanwhile, Matt Wallner is expected to rejoin the Minnesota Twins lineup when their road trip shifts from the east to west coast later this week. Their final game in Tampa vs the Rays is scheduled for Wednesday. Then, they have an off-day Thursday, before seven total games in Seattle and Sacramento (Athletics).
Walker Jenkins still not ready
Outside of those three injuries, the Twins have a relatively clean bill of health… at least up in the big leagues. Down on the farm, top prospect Walker Jenkins — who Minnesota selected with the No. 5 overall in 2023 — has missed pretty much the entire start of the minor league season with a high ankle sprain he suffered during spring training.
After he returned for a couple of games in April, Jenkins went back on the injured list, where he has remained ever since. Nightengale gave the first update we’ve heard on Walker Jenkins in a while… and it wasn’t as positive as we’d hoped.
The 20-year-old out of North Carolina got a cortisone shot around a month ago. The Twins aren’t saying whether or not it worked as they’d hoped… but Bobby did aggregate an update from Minnesota GM Jeremy Zoll, via a recent interview with Sirius XM Radio, noting that Jenkins is still two to three weeks out.
Twins top prospect Walker Jenkins, who received a cortisone shot to aid his left high ankle sprain at the end of April, is still a couple of weeks from returning to minor league games. “I think we finally flushed out all the inflammation and all the soreness,” Twins General Manager Jeremy Zoll said on Sirius XM’s MLB Network “Front Office” radio show. “He’s been ramping up his activity. … We’re optimistic that he’ll be on the field within the next few weeks.”
It was determined that Jenkins — who last played on April 6 — needed a cortisone shot weeks after his injury, once his ankle didn’t progress as he and Twins doctors were hoping it would.
What is the MN Twins organization missing with Jenkins out?
To this point, Baseball America’s No. 5 overall prospect in 2025 has played just 110 professional games in two-plus professional seasons since the Minnesota Twins selected him out of South Brunswick high school.
In the two games he’s played this season, Jenkins is 1-for-8. Last year, at just 19 years old, the outfield slugger played 82 games across four different levels, slashing .282/.394/.439, a journey that ended with six games at double A Wichita. Once he is healthy, that is where he will restart 2025.
Jenkins is a true five-tool player. He posted 22 doubles, four triples, and six home runs while owning a 47/56 K/BB. He was successful on 17-of-20 stolen base attempts as well. Speed is certainly part of the Jenkins’ game, but he could eventually shift more towards a corner spot and lean into the power.
The Wichita Wind Surge are currently 23-22 to start the year, and could use an elite talent like Jenkins in their lineup. If Walker Jenkins is going to see run at Triple-A this summer, he needs to get back on the field ASAP.
