Rumors about the twins may run as the deadline sellers spin this year’s All-Star Game Byron Buxton Publicly stated that he did not want to give up all his no trade clauses and looked forward to being twins for the rest of his career. Minnesota does take the seller’s route and is more active than anyone might have expected. Twins transported ten players, including shortstop Carlos Correa (At least by signature in 2028) and a quartet of controllable rescuers: Jhoan Duran,,,,, Griffin Jax,,,,, Louis Varland and Brock Stewart. Even after their aggressive roster cleared, Buxton intended to stay in Minnesota with all intentions.
“Just because we’ve gone through these tough paths … that’s the truth,” Buxton told reporters two days after the trade deadline. “Once we go to the other end, we’ll get better and figure things out. At the end of the season, we’ll say a little bit more, but I’m not going to go.”
Some may post comments about Buxton about “a little more” at the end of the season, but Buxton emphasizes more in his chat with athletes’ Dan Hayes:
“Being wanted. Don’t get me wrong. But the only place I want is Minnesota. All my options are easy. I don’t have a place. That’s it.”
Hayes reported that six or more teams approached Buxton’s agents to assess outfielders’ willingness to abandon trade protections, as Minnesota’s demolition rate is wider than anyone expected to enter a deadline. According to Hayes, both the Braves and the Mets are particularly interested. Dennis Lin of Sports Tweets, Padres is also one of the teams expected given AJ Preller’s tendency to check out nearly all high-profile names that land on the market. Obviously, Buxton is not interested in changing the scenery.
Buxton, 31, is in the fourth season of the $100mm contract, seven years covering the 2022-28 season. His annual salary is 15mm, although the contract is based on MVP voting that includes up to $8MM annual incentives and may receive an annual bonus of 2.5mm based on the plate appearance. Of course, if the talented but often injured Buxton can stay healthy throughout the season and maximize those incentives with an MVP win, he will still bargain in that season, even the 25.5mm bargain.
The 2025 season is by far the best of Buxton’s career. He hit .282/.343/.561 in 364 sets with 23 home runs, 14 doubles, 17 steals (17 attempts), 8% walking rate and 26.6% strikeout. By measuring WRC+, he is 45% better than the league average from an offensive standpoint, while Statcast’s outs are above average (+4) (+4) sees him as a constantly strong defender (although defensive scoring saves him, his first negative contribution in his career). Statcast measured Buxton’s average sprint speed (30.2 ft/sec) in the game, only behind Bobby Witt Jr.30.3 feet per second
Maybe on the way, Buxton will eventually soften his stance on no trade rules, but even seeing nearly 40% of the MLB roster trade elsewhere, he sounds like he’d love to stay in the Twins.
It is not clear that the offseason will extend when the twins roster tear apart. The Pohlad family owns the team for 40 years and is exploring the sale of the franchise. Obviously, this plays a big role in the team’s deadline, especially in the transfer of trading Correa (a move that reduces the long-term salary by 70mm). If there is a new owner or agreement to sell the club, the new group may be willing to spend money and re-push the controversy next year. If Pohlads stayed in place, then veterans liked Pablo Lopez,,,,, Joe Ryan,,,,, Ryan Jeffers and Bailey Ober All can find themselves in the market to further expand the financial commitments that new owners will inherit.
