Carlos Correa Goes Off in Defense of Byron Buxton's Load Management

When the Minnesota Twins added Carlos Correa this offseason, they were adding a second superstar to their roster. Minnesota already has one in the form of center fielder Byron Buxton. The only issue? Getting the two to play on the field simultaneously thanks to Buxton's troubling injury history.

Minnesota carved out a load management plan to keep Buxton on the field and healthy as much as possible in 2022. Correa is in favor of this approach, and didn't hold back in defense of the Twins' plan of action around Buxton's health.

Nearing the end of an IL trip himself, Correa went off when asked about how Minnesota has dealt with Buxton's playing time. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported his response.

Twins News

"They probably don’t know the game of baseball. If you’ve got shit to talk about our best player, probably one of the best players in the game, then you don’t know what you’re doing. He’s a guy that wants to be out there every day. When he’s on the field, he’s been performing at the highest of levels. He has 11 homers already, he’s one of the leaders of the league. When you look at Byron and his knees this early in the year, that’s something you’ve got to be careful with as a team. And you’ve got to take the necessary precautions in order for him to stay on the field. I’d rather have him for 120 of a full season than have him for 50 because he’s trying to do too much.”

- Carlos Correa

Correa certainly does not mince his words, saying the people who aren't in favor of this method "don't know the game of baseball."

Currently, the Twins allow Buxton to start every two of three games before a scheduled rest day. The goal is to get him over 100 games in 2022, but that's been a tall task. In eight MLB seasons, Buxton has reached 100+ games just once when he played 140 back in 2017. He hasn't eclipsed 62 or more games in half of his big league career.

Regardless, the Twins are rolling. Their 21-15 record sits in first place in the AL Central and Minnesota holds +160 odds to win the division on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.