Bullet point summary by AI
- Minnesota faces a potential rebuild and could become very active at the trade deadline this July.
- One All-Star outfielder with a full no-trade clause remains steadfast in his desire to stay with his current team despite outside interest from multiple contenders.
- The decision of whether to prioritize immediate playoff chances over long-term loyalty now rests entirely with the player as the deadline approaches.
Minnesota Twins All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton finds himself facing an unenviable crossroads as the calendar quickly nears July.
Buxton has a full no-trade clause, and the Twins are floating around .500 amid the early stages of a rebuild. Naturally, trade rumors are nonetheless surrounding the 32-year-old, who is on pace to set career highs in home runs and bWAR.
Buxton has been steadfast in saying he doesn’t want to be traded. However, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel recently pointed out, such a mindset often only works in theory.
“Minnesota is positioned to have another active deadline and go almost full rebuild, and if anything will change Buxton’s mind, it’s the Twins’ timeline,” they wrote.
The two suggested the Diamondbacks, Phillies and Yankees among the eight teams they believe must pursue Buxton. But while New York has other fish to fry and Philly could find itself short on prospect capital to induce a trade, Arizona might sneakily be the perfect match.
A Twins-Diamondbacks trade that would send Byron Buxton to the desert
Arizona has consistently signaled that they have no interest in rebuilding, or conceding anything despite sharing a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers (and the always hard-charging San Diego Padres). There remains a promising core here, with Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno and youngsters like Jordan Lawlar and Ryan Waldschmidt. But something needs to change if this group wants to have a chance to make another World Series run in the near future, and there’s a glaring hole in center field that Buxton can fill.
Parting with Cunningham, maybe the organization’s best prospect, will hurt, but that’s the cost of doing business for multiple years of an All-Star hitter. Eagen’s inflated numbers in a rough home park in Amarillo shouldn’t fool you; he’s got mid-rotation upside if he can continue refining his pitch mix.
Realistically, the Twins won’t be ready to make serious noise in the AL by the time Buxton enters the final year of his seven-year contract in 2028. Moving on now, while he’s healthy and hitting and comes with plenty of team control remaining, makes a ton of sense — assuming, that is, that he signs off.
Only Byron Buxton can decide whether he wants to win
Passan and McDaniel have Buxton at a 30-percent chance of being traded, which sounds incredibly high to us. Buxton continues saying he wants to play his entire career for the Twins, so we’d be shocked to see him suddenly reverse course.
Buxton wouldn’t be enough to propel the Diamondbacks over the Dodgers, not with 9.5 games already separating the two. But what Buxton would do is give Arizona another proven power threat in a crowded NL Wild Card race.
The question, as we’ve noted with Mike Trout, is whether Buxton is willing to put his pride aside for a better opportunity to win elsewhere.
On the one hand, those who want to — and are able to — spend their entire career with one team should be commended. Otherwise, you see some strange pairings, and we’re not solely talking about Michael Jordan on the Wizards. The football gods seemingly haven’t approved of Aaron Rodgers leaving the Packers. Ichiro never looked right in a Yankees or, ugh, a Marlins uniform. We should all be grateful Derek Jeter didn’t sign with the Red Sox when he hit free agency late in his career.
“The only way I’m getting out of here [is] they’re going to have to come talk to me and tell me something else,” Buxton said this week. “Simple as that. … I ain’t said nothing about leaving, nor will I. I’m a Twin.”
That’s his loss, and we’re not solely talking about the AL Central standings.
Speaking candidly, it’s never been easier to reach the MLB postseason. Each league has three Wild Card spots, and there’s enough parity for an 84-win or 85-win team to sneak in.
That’s why the “ring culture” argument doesn’t work for a significant number of baseball legends. The sport didn’t even have multiple postseason rounds until 1969, and it wasn’t until 1995 that we saw four teams in each league make the playoffs.
Why, then, would Buxton voluntarily forego the opportunity to win elsewhere? Barring a drastic injury, nothing is stopping Buxton from accepting a trade and returning to Minnesota later in his career. Albert Pujols signed with the Angels after the 2011 season, then came back to the Cardinals over a decade later. Justin Verlander finally returned to the Tigers this past offseason, though he’s spent almost the entire regular season on the IL.
The ball is in Buxton’s court, and we suggest the Diamondbacks work closely with the Twins on swaying Buxton to waive his no-trade clause. Otherwise, he’s committing himself to the possibility of enduring another rebuild. And, if that’s what he wants, then so be it. Just don’t complain next summer if the Twins are well out of the playoff race.
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