Plouffe is sidelined by broken rib

It wasn’t exactly Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, but Trevor Plouffe’s two-run, game-tying home run in Friday night’s seventh inning against Martin Perez was memorable in hindsight.Plouffe, it was learned subsequently, had suffered a fractured rib in his left side after getting plunked with a pitch two nights earlier in Chicago by White Sox rookie right-hander Michael Ynoa, brother of Twins pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa.“I wish I could keep hitting them with a broken rib,” Plouffe, the Twins third baseman, said Monday after landing on the 15-day disabled list. “Unfortunately it’s getting worse and worse.”Slugging first baseman Kennys Vargas was recalled from Class AAA Rochester to fill Plouffe’s roster spot. Initial estimates are that Plouffe will miss three to four weeks, but he is typically on the faster side of the recovery timeline.Already dealing with a strained groin that caused him to miss two games at Yankee Stadium last weekend, Plouffe was disappointed when Twins manager Paul Molitor opted to rest him on Saturday. Back in the lineup Sunday, Plouffe was a late scratch when swinging a bat proved too painful during his pregame routine.A magnetic resonance imaging exam taken Sunday afternoon showed the fracture when it was finally read by a Twins doctor during the evening.“For some reason the pain is tolerable until the swelling goes down or goes away,” Plouffe said. “That’s when the pain kicks in. That’s basically what happened.”He began to have trouble sleeping over the weekend and noticed certain movements were causing him pain. Having already spent two weeks on the DL in late April with a strained muscle in his right side, Plouffe’s down year just keeps growing more frustrating.“I’ve fought a lot of stuff throughout the year, playing at 65 (percent) to 70 percent, just trying to get through it,” he said. “I would love to continue to do that, man, but this is a little too much. It’s been tough. I’ve had injuries before but not where it’s plagued me throughout the year. It’s something mentally you just have to get over.”After averaging 58.5 extra-base hits the past two seasons, Plouffe has produced just 17 in 58 games through the first half of the season. His on-base percentage had dropped to a career-worst .283.Despite that decline, his name was mentioned in trade rumors with Miguel Sano making the move from right field back to third base last week. Making $7.25 million with another year of team control in 2017, Plouffe now figures to be off the trade market until the August waiver period at best.“I don’t know what’s going to happen with that now,” Plouffe said. “I guess I never knew. I’m here with you guys. That’s the anti-silver lining.”Buxton soreTwins center fielder Byron Buxton was available to play Monday but Molitor still opted to sit him for a second straight day.Buxton crashed into the bullpen wall making a catch on Friday night, but came back to triple off the wall in right on Saturday.“He’s banged up a little bit,” Molitor said. “I think between the wall crash and some other things, (Sunday) wasn’t too good. Today I think he was probably ready to play. I didn’t feel I needed to rush him.”The recall of Eddie Rosario from Rochester and the recent emergence of reserve Danny Santana gave Molitor options as he rests Buxton.When “general soreness” was offered as a description of Buxton’s latest woes, the manager agreed.“That’s about as far as I’d go with trying to describe what he’s dealing with,” Molitor said. “He just beats his body up pretty good.”Hitting just .222 with a .248 OBP since his May 31 recall, Buxton does have three extra-base hits during his four-game hitting streak. He has 10 extra-base hits in his past 99 at-bats for a .374 slugging percentage.Buxton is also perfect in four stolen-base attempts in his fourth tour of duty at the big-league level.Twins general manager Terry Ryan said recently the club “willing to live with some of the things that go on with that bat” as long as Buxton keeps playing game-changing defense and using his speed on the bases.BrieflyUtility infielder Eduardo Escobar (hamstring) probably won’t get on the field again until Thursday and the start of a four-game series at Texas to close the first half of the season. Escobar was removed from Saturday’s game after suffering the injury while scoring from second in the first inning, but he passed a battery of tests Sunday that kept him off the DL for now.
It wasn’t exactly Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, but Trevor Plouffe’s two-run, game-tying home run in Friday night’s seventh inning against Martin Perez was memorable in hindsight.Plouffe, it was learned subsequently, had suffered a fractured rib in his left side after getting plunked with a pitch two nights earlier in Chicago by White Sox rookie right-hander Michael Ynoa, brother of Twins pitching prospect Huascar Ynoa.“I wish I could keep hitting them with a broken rib,” Plouffe, the Twins third baseman, said Monday after landing on the 15-day disabled list. “Unfortunately it’s getting worse and worse.”Slugging first baseman Kennys Vargas was recalled from Class AAA Rochester to fill Plouffe’s roster spot. Initial estimates are that Plouffe will miss three to four weeks, but he is typically on the faster side of the recovery timeline.Already dealing with a strained groin that caused him to miss two games at Yankee Stadium last weekend, Plouffe was disappointed when Twins manager Paul Molitor opted to rest him on Saturday. Back in the lineup Sunday, Plouffe was a late scratch when swinging a bat proved too painful during his pregame routine.A magnetic resonance imaging exam taken Sunday afternoon showed the fracture when it was finally read by a Twins doctor during the evening.“For some reason the pain is tolerable until the swelling goes down or goes away,” Plouffe said. “That’s when the pain kicks in. That’s basically what happened.”He began to have trouble sleeping over the weekend and noticed certain movements were causing him pain. Having already spent two weeks on the DL in late April with a strained muscle in his right side, Plouffe’s down year just keeps growing more frustrating.“I’ve fought a lot of stuff throughout the year, playing at 65 (percent) to 70 percent, just trying to get through it,” he said. “I would love to continue to do that, man, but this is a little too much. It’s been tough. I’ve had injuries before but not where it’s plagued me throughout the year. It’s something mentally you just have to get over.”After averaging 58.5 extra-base hits the past two seasons, Plouffe has produced just 17 in 58 games through the first half of the season. His on-base percentage had dropped to a career-worst .283.Despite that decline, his name was mentioned in trade rumors with Miguel Sano making the move from right field back to third base last week. Making $7.25 million with another year of team control in 2017, Plouffe now figures to be off the trade market until the August waiver period at best.“I don’t know what’s going to happen with that now,” Plouffe said. “I guess I never knew. I’m here with you guys. That’s the anti-silver lining.”Buxton soreTwins center fielder Byron Buxton was available to play Monday but Molitor still opted to sit him for a second straight day.Buxton crashed into the bullpen wall making a catch on Friday night, but came back to triple off the wall in right on Saturday.“He’s banged up a little bit,” Molitor said. “I think between the wall crash and some other things, (Sunday) wasn’t too good. Today I think he was probably ready to play. I didn’t feel I needed to rush him.”The recall of Eddie Rosario from Rochester and the recent emergence of reserve Danny Santana gave Molitor options as he rests Buxton.When “general soreness” was offered as a description of Buxton’s latest woes, the manager agreed.“That’s about as far as I’d go with trying to describe what he’s dealing with,” Molitor said. “He just beats his body up pretty good.”Hitting just .222 with a .248 OBP since his May 31 recall, Buxton does have three extra-base hits during his four-game hitting streak. He has 10 extra-base hits in his past 99 at-bats for a .374 slugging percentage.Buxton is also perfect in four stolen-base attempts in his fourth tour of duty at the big-league level.Twins general manager Terry Ryan said recently the club “willing to live with some of the things that go on with that bat” as long as Buxton keeps playing game-changing defense and using his speed on the bases.BrieflyUtility infielder Eduardo Escobar (hamstring) probably won’t get on the field again until Thursday and the start of a four-game series at Texas to close the first half of the season. Escobar was removed from Saturday’s game after suffering the injury while scoring from second in the first inning, but he passed a battery of tests Sunday that kept him off the DL for now.