By Joe Christensen

Star Tribune

The stakes could not be higher. Twins officials openly say so themselves: Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano will overcome their recent woes and become consistent standouts — or the whole organization is back to square one.

Against that backdrop, the Twins have spent long stretches this season looking like a car missing two wheels, even as they gained speed before the All-Star break.

Buxton and Sano, the organization’s prized cornerstones, both were healthy enough to play for the Twins during the team’s recent surge, but Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey kept them in the minors to heal their swings and their psyches. In some ways, those projects have become just as important as the 2018 season itself.

“We certainly aren’t going to be playoff-bound and have any chance to really win if Buxton and Sano aren’t pillars of our lineup,” said Mike Radcliff, the Twins’ vice president of player personnel. “What are we going to do, trade them? They have no value right now. We have to get them right.”

Where are they now? Buxton, 24, is on the disabled list at Class AAA Rochester, recovering from left wrist inflammation. Sano, 25, is at Class A Fort Myers, where he just returned after tending to a family matter this week in the Dominican Republic.

With each passing week that these two aren’t thriving in the majors, more people wonder if they’re ever going to live up to their ballyhooed potential.

“I would be much more concerned about Sano than Buxton if I were in Derek Falvey’s shoes,” said Keith Law, an ESPN baseball analyst who ranks the game’s top prospects. “Because of [Sano’s] size, the bat always has to be there. Buxton can have a bad year with the bat and still provide value because he’s Usain Bolt and plays the heck out of center.”

As it stands, the Twins will return from the All-Star break Friday without either player, and with no spoken timetable for their big-league returns.

“Our goal has never been to get them right back, so they can survive or keep their heads above water,” Falvey said. “Our goal has been to make them impact players.”

Major revisions in minors

Before injuring his wrist, Buxton had begun showing tangible signs of progress for Rochester. With his fractured left big toe finally healed, he opened July by batting .281 with an .830 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in eight games in Class AAA, albeit with nine strikeouts.

“[Buxton] was on his way to being back in the big leagues here quickly, in the short term, probably this month, or soon,” Radcliff said. “There’s no timetable per se, but well ahead of when Miguel was going to show up.”