Twins: Buxton Done For The Year

It looks like the Twins are going to shut down Byron Buxton for the rest of the season. That's according to GM Terry Ryan from the Twins' website,  www.twinsbaseball.com.

Buxton, ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect by MLB.com, was involved in a collision with his teammate Mike Kvasnicka in right-center field while playing in his first game with Double-A New Britain.

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan was on hand to witness the collision and said Buxton was lucky to only suffer concussion-like symptoms as a result. But the Twins plan to be cautious with Buxton, as he's not expected to return before New Britain's season ends Sept. 1.

Buxton flew to Fort Myers, Fla., on Sunday and will be monitored by the club's medical staff at their Spring Training complex there.

"I would doubt it," Ryan said of Buxton making his return. "They're on the road for 11 days and he's going to be in Florida and we still have to go through the protocol to get him cleared. So I don't think we're going to mess with it."

Ryan said that Buxton is also dealing with some stiffness as a result of the collision, but was fortunate not to break any bones. He added his concussions symptoms also have been minor, as he's only been dealing with some headaches and hasn't had any sensitivity to light or sound.

"He's stiff is what it comes down to," Ryan said. "He has some stiffness in the upper body around his neck area. But other than that, he's doing very well."

Ryan said that if Buxton continues to make progress, he could play in the Arizona Fall League in October. But the club's GM said he's not ready to commit to that because it's difficult to predict how long the concussion-like symptoms will last.

"Only if he's ready," Ryan said. "I don't want to get premature on how he'll recover and feel two weeks from now. First things first, we need to go through the Major League protocol for concussion symptoms. But he's in Fort Myers, which is convenient, so we can ramp him up there. The fall league starts Oct. 7, so it makes some sense that might be a good progression."

courtesy: twinsbaseball.com