The answer to the Twins' most pressing question of spring training was answered Thursday: Turns out, Byron Buxton was ready to start the season by Opening Day.
Minnesota at Oakland, the first game of the 2020 season, didn't happen as scheduled, but had it been played, Buxton probably would have been in the lineup, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey confirmed during a conference call Thursday. Instead, the Twins center fielder is at his home in Baxley, Ga., his left shoulder now completely healed from labrum surgery last September.
"Buck's rehab could not have gone smoother," Baldelli said. "Physically, mentally, he's in a tremendous spot."
Buxton remained at the Twins' headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla., when MLB shut down all training camps March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, to continue the rehab program that had kept him out of all Grapefruit League games this spring.
"He finished up, did some more work with our physical therapist, and as things wound down, it was clear he was moving on to more baseball activity," Falvey said. "It felt like the best place for him to be was back home with his family."
If training camps eventually resume, Buxton will be on the same schedule as his teammates, Baldelli said, "a more normal progression along the lines of a typical player."
Pitching coach Wes Johnson also joined the Twins' conference call, and said he has been in touch with each member of the team's pitching staff nearly every day during the shutdown. Johnson gave each pitcher a course of action to follow, as best they can, to stay ready for the eventual resumption of the baseball calendar. With so many facilities closed, it hasn't been easy for all of them to find places to work out, however.
"Every guy is facing challenges. Think about it: We're at a point now where, if it rains all day, they don't throw," Johnson said. "We're trying to look at things on a weekly basis. So right now, we've got them on a throwing program. Will that change in another two weeks if we don't have any clarity on which direction we're going? Absolutely."