The Twins were set to make a series of personnel moves prior to their 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Rangers tonight in Arlington, Texas.

Most notably, the team plans to place Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list with soreness in his right hip, retroactive to Monday, and recall infielder Edouard Julien from Class AAA St. Paul to take his place on the 26-man active roster.

Buxton pulled himself after taking an at-bat in Monday’s 8-3 victory over Kansas City and hasn’t played since. An MRI exam on the hip was negative, but manager Rocco Baldelli said Wednesday the Twins want to give him time to heal. The center fielder is not in Texas with the team.

In addition, the Twins have optioned Louie Varland back to St. Paul. The right-hander threw his first big league quality start of the season in Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Royals. To take his place on the active roster, the Twins recalled right-hander Ronny Henriquez from the Saints.

Varland was spot-starting for the Twins, who wanted to give their regular starters an extra day of rest before the current seven-game road series. Under MLB rules, won’t be available for recall until Aug. 30.

Henriquez is 1-2 with a 3.44 earned-run average in 34 appearances (three starts) with the Twins this season.

Castro contract?

Willi Castro has been what you could call a “find.” Signed to a minor league contract before the 2023 season, he has become something more of a key contributor to two good teams.

“I think Willi Castro is the MVP of this team,” Royce White said this week.

Considered a fringe player in Detroit, which let him walk as a free agent after the 2022 season, Castro is playing on a one-year, $3.3 million deal. Only 27, he is in line for his first major league multiyear deal.
Asked Wednesday if he has spoken to the Twins about one, the utility man said no, which makes sense because the Twins don’t typically talk contracts during the season.

“A lot of my teammates tell me I should be thinking about that,” Castro said, “but I’m just focused on this season.”

Through Wednesday, Castro was hitting .256 with a .338 on-base percentage, 41 extra-base hits — including a career-high nine homers — 69 runs scored and 44 RBIs while batting up and down the lineup. On Tuesday, Castro was given the team’s Heart and Hustle Award, voted on by current and former players.

Furthermore, heading into Thursday’s game, Castro has played in 119 of the team’s 120 games at positions as varied as shortstop, second base, third base, left field and center field, filling in for injured players such as Lewis and Carlos Correa.

“He’s a great player and he’s finally getting to put that on display for everybody, playing every day,” Lewis said. “I’m so proud of him. He works so hard.”

Briefly

The Twins released their Hammond Stadium schedule for 2025 spring training games in Fort Myers, Fla. It can be found here: https://www.mlb.com/twins/spring-training.