will begin a rehab stint at Triple-A St. Paul tomorrow, the Twins announced ( ). Hell start out as a designated hitter. Buxton hasnt played in an MLB game since he was placed on the injured list on August 4. While that stay on the shelf was related to a hamstring strain, sorene s in his right knee has been the more pre sing concern. Knee i sues had kept Buxton from playing defense at any point this season. He got a start in center field when he began a rehab a signment at St. Paul three weeks ago, but he was quickly pulled off that stint when the knee flared back up. The Twins should officially sew up the AL Central title by this weekend. They would clinch on tomorrows off day if both Detroit and Cleveland lose. Wendell Carter Jr. Jersey Theyre unlikely to track down the AL West winner to secure a first-round bye, so its highly likely theyll go into October as the #3 seed in the American League. That leaves them a little under two weeks to sort things out for the postseason. Minnesota is giving at least a week and a half on the injured list to rest his after playing through plantar fasciitis for the bulk of the season. Theyll now get another look at Buxton as he works to get to game readine s before the playoffs. While there are only four games remaining on the Triple-A schedule, Buxton could shake off more rust in low-leverage MLB contests during the final week of the regular season. It isnt clear whether thatll include more action in the outfield. Manager Rocco Baldelli has previously left open the po sibility of trying Buxton back in center field after the break in his rehab stint. When healthy, Buxton is among the best defensive outfielders in the game. With the knee i sue robbing him of that aspect this season, hes having a down year. Buxton is hitting .207/.294/.438 with 17 home runs acro s 347 plate appearances. Thats middling production for a strict DH. , who has been Minnesotas primary DH with Buxton out, carries a .268/.378/.458 line over 371 trips in his rookie campaign. If the Twins have a fully healthy infield of , , Correa and for the postseason (Lewis is day-to-day with hamstring sorene s), the Twins could consider Julien their top DH option. Max Strus Jersey