Buxton easing into camp activities, on track for Opening Day

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It might take some time before Byron Buxton builds up to fully participating in all activities with his teammates this spring. But don’t worry, that’s by design.

Even as camp quickly ramps up, the club plans to be “cautious” with Buxton’s buildup at the start of Spring Training, with care taken regarding when he’ll start going full tilt, take more aggressive batting-practice sessions and play in games as opposed to simply hitting on the back fields. That will be the case for both Buxton and Jorge Polanco, who are still on track for Opening Day, manager Rocco Baldelli said.

• Buxton, Correa ready to lead Twins for long haul

“Everything is in line with what we were hoping for,” Baldelli said of Buxton. “He’ll get some light baseball activity done, most of it inside, I would think. Maybe some of it out [on the field]. But we’re going to just get all of our eyes on him first, continue to build him up and assess where he’s at. As far as the way his rehab is going, it’s gone well.”

As part of Buxton’s first full day in camp on Saturday, he ran in front of Twins officials for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last September, addressing the pain and inflammation that troubled him throughout the 2022 season. He was first cleared to run at the end of November, but he did not work with his high school track and field coach, as he usually does during the offseason -- though he’ll be looking to do that this spring.

As far as a timetable goes for getting fully ready, Baldelli says much will be determined by the Twins’ evaluation of Buxton in this first week. The center fielder himself will do what it takes to be ready for the games that count.

“First day of the regular season, that's the timetable,” Buxton said.

Though Buxton didn’t offer many specifics, he also noted that his training routine will be different this spring.

“I’m trying new stuff,” Buxton said. “It’s a whole different setup in there. So for me, we can’t come with the same approach. You stick with what felt good to you in the past, but to add on for me to get to where I want to get to, you have to make little changes here and there. So it’s part of it. That’s what we're doing now. So far, it’s good.”

Duran throwing 102 mph on Day 1: ‘I’ve never heard of that before’

Carlos Correa shouldn’t have poked the dragon.

He said he spent the last 24 hours telling Jhoan Duran that he would hit a homer off the young right-hander when live batting practice sessions started on Sunday. In response, Duran coolly fired off a 102 mph fastball against Correa in the first live session of camp, striking out the star shortstop twice on a pair of wild swings on offspeed pitches.

“I was like, 'Holy [crap], welcome back,'” Correa said. “It was fun. I wanted to face Duran the first day.”

Correa had never faced Duran live, since the shortstop signed with the Twins after Grapefruit League games had already started last spring. The 25-year-old right-hander, of course, set velocity record after velocity record as part of a stellar rookie season. Duran blew Correa, Max Kepler and Joey Gallo away on Sunday, already having fun by doing his strikeout strut after Correa flailed at a curveball.

“I’ve never heard of that before,” Correa said. “I’ve been around guys like [Justin] Verlander, [Gerrit Cole], throwing 89, 90 the first couple of live BPs. Just getting a feel for stuff and you get this beast throwing 102 on the first day of lives, that’s pretty impressive. He’s ready.”

Added Gallo: “I’m glad he’s on my team, for sure.”

But does this extreme velocity worry Baldelli at all, considering how early it is in the spring?

“It’s hard not to have the thought, because we’re used to guys in this game historically coming in and easing their way both on the offensive and pitching sides,” Baldelli said. “But I think the way guys prepare, it’s different [now]. I think they come in almost in the physical shape, in a lot of ways, that guys would be by Opening Day.”

Duran indicated that the velocity didn’t even require undue effort, anyway.

“When somebody told me I threw that hard, I said, 'Are you serious?'” Duran said.