The best news the Twins have heard lately: That Byron Buxton's toe is in bad shape.
Buxton went on the disabled list after admitting that he can't push off on his broken toe. Why is this relatively good news?
Because the way Buxton was swinging, if there wasn't a physical problem holding him back, the only other conclusion we could reach would be that he had regressed as a hitter by two years.
What we know now is that Buxton couldn't land properly on his left foot, leading to his unconventional swing becoming even less conventional.
Buxton has had two spurts in the majors during which he looked like an All-Star: September of 2016 and the second half of 2017. If he takes an approach that gives him a chance to make contact, the ball will jump off of his bat. If he can land properly on his left foot.
More good news amid the Twins' wreckage? Miguel Sano has come back looking more like his old self. He hit a home run to centerfield in Kansas City with the kind of swing that could yet make him a superstar, and he has produced with runners in scoring position of late.
Whether it's Roy Smalley, Tom Kelly, Justin Morneau or Paul Molitor, what you hear from the Twins' best hitting gurus is that a hitter like Sano needs to let the ball travel and be willing to drive it to center or right. If he does that, he will still hit home runs to leftfield because of his bat speed, but he will stop striking out at a near-historic rate.
As for Ervin Santana's setback, there is no way to paint that as good news, except that for all of their problems the Twins don't currently have anyone begging to leave the rotation. Lance Lynn has pitched well in his last two starts, Kyle Gibson continues to reinvent himself and revive his career, and Fernando Romero is too good to take out of the rotation even after his implosion on Wednesday night.
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