Twins put Buxton on injured list with inflammation in troublesome knee; antsy Lewis still rehabbing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins put center fielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list Friday because of inflammation in his troublesome right knee, with guarded optimism his latest absence can be kept to the minimum.

Buxton exited early from the game at Chicago on Wednesday after experiencing soreness in the knee that he’s had two surgeries on and limited him to a designated hitter role last season. The discomfort caused him to pull up short while trying to steal second base for a third consecutive time, after the first two attempts were thwarted by foul balls.

“This is a long season. He wants to be in a good place, because he is still dealing with some tenderness and some tightness,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “You don’t want to be chasing that every couple of days, so we want to try and get ahead of it here.”