MINNEAPOLIS — Byron Buxton is trying to balance his sanity with a smart, 10,000-foot view of how aggravating his sore right hip could cost him significant playing time.Though the two-time Minnesota Twins All-Star will be out of the lineup for a third straight day Saturday, Buxton was in a jovial mood after participating in a series of baseball drills, his first activity in several days. Out with a sore right hip flexor muscle since Thursday, Buxton ran on the warning track, worked on fielding drills with outfield coach Grady Sizemore and headed to the weight room for more activity with the strength and athletic training staffs.While Buxton would undoubtedly prefer to be in the lineup, he knows doing so before he’s ready to return could be harmful to how his summer plays out.The downside, of course, is that the Twins are without Buxton. The center fielder has been on a month-long heater, hitting .298/.350/.728 with 15 home runs since April 13.“I don’t want to make the tightness, if that’s what it is, become something major,” Buxton said. “The biggest thing is to make sure I’m playing. … Playing keeps me sane, keeps me chill. That’s the biggest thing is to make sure I’m there for the guys, but also understanding this is May, and they’re going to need me for the rest of the year. (It’s better) if it’s a couple of days of missing time for this now, rather than missing months if it was to lead to something like that.”Typically, teams would start to consider a 10-day injured list assignment when a player misses three consecutive games. But because he’s Byron Buxton, the Twins will afford their star more time.Twins manager Derek Shelton continues to be optimistic that Buxton is near a return. Even if the Twins didn’t get Buxton back until Monday, as long as he’s healthy, they’d rather play short-handed for four games versus him missing 10.“He’s probably (going to) get more time than anyone else, just depending on how he feels,” Shelton said. “The actual answer to that is I don’t know; we’d have to see where he’s at and see what level of availability he has moving forward. … We’ll have a better idea after those baseball activities, but the fact that he’s out there moving around, I think we’re trending in the right direction.”Buxton, who has appeared in 40 of the team’s 45 games entering Saturday, said he feels his hip more when running versus at the plate. He originally felt sore after running the bases in a victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night and said it continued to get tighter, even after the training staff managed it.The Twins are being extra cautious with Buxton because he has a history of hip injuries. Buxton missed 40 games after suffering a Grade 2 hip strain during the 2021 season. The outfielder’s 2022 season ended Aug. 22 because of a hip strain, an injury that cost him 42 games. Then in 2024, Buxton missed 28 games in August and September because of right hip inflammation.“Just to get out here and do some work definitely feels good,” Buxton said. “(Saturday) felt good. Obviously, it’s a little bit warmer, so that helps. But to be able to get out and run, I did my fielding stuff. I’ve got to do more stuff in the weight training room. To be able to test it out, it feels good. Two days ago, I definitely wasn’t doing this.”The Twins received more positive news on the injury front as they announced Taj Bradley would make a rehab start at Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday. Out with a right pectoral muscle strain, Bradley threw a bullpen Friday and reported feeling good.Twins reliever Cody Laweryson also pitched a scoreless inning for St. Paul on Saturday. Laweryson, who is out with a right forearm strain and last pitched April 8, threw 15 pitches in a scoreless inning for the Saints. His fastball topped out at 92 mph, and his velocities were slightly down from his season average, according to Baseball Savant.May 16, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms