Twins notes: Buxton may play in Arizona Fall League

Arizona Fall League rosters are expected to be announced sometime this week, and Byron Buxton might be on one.

Buxton is out for the rest of the season after suffering a concussion on Aug. 13 when he collided with a Class AA New Britain teammate while chasing a fly ball. But Buxton, considered the top prospect in baseball coming into the season, needs action after injuries to both wrists limited him to 30 games at Class A Fort Myers and one at New Britain. So the Twins might send Buxton to the AFL if he's recovered.

"He's got some headaches and a stiff neck," said Rob Antony, Twins assistant general manager.

But Antony said other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, have not occurred. So the Twins are hopeful Buxton will not need a lengthy recovery.

"Our goal is to get him healthy and have him as a possibility to go to the fall league," Antony said.

Buxton batted .240 with four home runs, 16 RBI and six stolen bases in 30 games at Fort Myers. He was 0-for-3 in his only game at New Britain.

Rosters are allowed to expand on Sept. 1, and the Twins are finalizing the list of players they will call up in about a week.

"He'll get a firsthand look," Antony said. "By the time he comes out of there, we'll have a pretty good idea.

"We've discussed all the possibilities. He'll go in and get a pretty good feel for who he thinks should come up, who needs to come up, who deserves the opportunity to come up. There are different guys who come up for different reasons sometimes."

Outfielder Aaron Hicks, catcher Josmil Pinto and reliever Michael Tonkin are among the favorites to be called up.

The Twins have two open spots on their 40-man roster, so they have flexibility to add players they want to take a look at next month.

The Twins' baseball communications department has spread the word that the Twins-Senators franchise is one home run shy of 10,000 all-time, according to STATS Inc. and baseball-reference.com.

The Elias Sports Bureau has chimed in, claiming the franchise is at exactly 10,000 home runs already, making Trevor Plouffe's ninth-inning home run off shortstop-turned-reliever Andrew Romine on Friday the historic shot.

The Twins are pretty sure it's 9,999. They even reached out to someone with the Society for American Baseball Research, who looked into the issue and came up with 9,999. Elias is looking into the matter.

"It takes a long time to count up 10,000 home runs," said Dustin Morse, Twins director of baseball communications.

This is fascinating because Romine, called upon to pitch the ninth in a 20-6 blowout loss, would wind up in Twins history for pitching.

The Twins either are or are about to become the 16th franchise to hit 10,000 home runs.