Basking in Buxton’s Season

[Ted Schwerzler]

With the final home game in the books for the Minnesota Twins, an unfortunate reality clouded over a wonderful night by Byron Buxton. It may be the star centerfielder’s final home game at Target Field. That’s yet to be determined, but he put together an impressive 2021 campaign.

Yes, it’s been very abbreviated. Buxton has dealt with a handful of injuries as he has throughout his career, but he’s carried on with a talent that’s truly unmatched. Contributing 3.8 fWAR through just 58 games, he’s nearly chased down team leader Jorge Polanco (4.1 fWAR), who has played 150 games. There have been several highlight-reel plays, and plenty of statistics have been thrown out to quantify his value.

Rather than take the time to sell you on another reason why Minnesota needs to take advantage of their opportunity to get a superstar player at a discount, I think it’s worth just sitting back and allowing the body of work this season to do the talking.

 

There's any number of highlights you could choose to induce a jaw-dropping reaction, but none of this is new. The Twins star has been doing this for years now, and while we still await a full season worth of health, there's no denying that watching him produce like this for someone else will hurt. The Minnesota Twins drafted, developed, and have enjoyed their man. It's time to pay him and make sure he's here for a long time to come.

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[FritzDahmus]

Why should Buxton be any different than any other Twin looking to get rich off Pohlad?? Trade him, we need to rebuild our Minor League system. Prospects win championships ya know. Just ask a Pohlad.....

Plus, then you can write about the need for pitching...........and a centerfielder. 

[Kal Lis]

Does anyone besides Buxton and his agent know if he wants to stay?

I know there were some comments at the trade deadline, but those seemed to be basic PR boilerplate.

[puckstopper1]

Yup - Buxton put together a wonderful ONE THIRD of a season.

 

[TheLeviathan]

How many people saw that he only started 55 games and thought it was more?  I was going to guess he played half the season, but it's a third.  Ouch.

He stayed on the field after he came back, that was a very promising end.  Hopefully they get a very fair contract done with incentives for Buck and protections in case we spend the next 7 years with 50 games played.

[Doctor Gast]

33 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

How many people saw that he only started 55 games and thought it was more?  I was going to guess he played half the season, but it's a third.  Ouch.

He stayed on the field after he came back, that was a very promising end.  Hopefully they get a very fair contract done with incentives for Buck and protections in case we spend the next 7 years with 50 games played.

My thoughts exactly. It wouldn't be too difficult to come up with a contract with incentives based on games and production. Buck wants to stay, lets get it done as soon as possible. While we're at it lets get a decent back up for a change so we aren't hurting soooo bad when he's not in the line up.

[Karbo]

From report before the trade deadline they had agreed on the base and couldn't agree on incentives. Time to get to work on a deal guys, you got 5 months or so to come to an agreement.

[USAFChief]

There is nothing the front office can do this offseason more important than getting Buxton under contract.

 

Whatever it takes. Pay the man. It's criminal it has gone this long. 

[chinmusic]

The Twins screwed Buxton on service time a few years ago.

Ever since then, I've doubted he'd remain in Minnesota. I'm hoping that he remains a Twin next year, or at least til the trade deadline.  Why would he not want to test the market?

Just gonna enjoy him this weekend.

[mnfireman]

I believe he has said he wants to stay here......?‍♂️

[yeahyabetcha]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

There is nothing the front office can do this offseason more important than getting Buxton under contract.

 

Whatever it takes. Pay the man. It's criminal it has gone this long. 

What if his asking price is $300 million for 10 years?

[mikelink45]

This is so hard to figure.  In seven years he has played three years worth of games (490) and yet was paid for 1,134.  I know there is no equation that balances the team and the player so he will want to be paid for what he can be and so does every other player (unless they are old stars who want to be paid for who they were).  Pro sports make no sense to the rest of us when it comes to salaries.  I mean Mike Trout is not worth $30 million a year to me, but I do not write the checks.  So do we sign him?  I would like to continue to see him on the team, but again, it is not my money.  What ever they decide - both sides, I will keep watching, hoping, and wondering. 

[Dennesey55347]

Buxton has 221 AB's this year. 18 Hr's (12 solos and six 2-run shots) for a total of 24 RBI's from HR's. His other 6 RBI's came in the remaining 203 "non-HR" AB's. You read that right. That level of production outside of the long ball has to be the lowest in MLB.

T-R-A-D-E.

[theBOMisthebomb]

12 hours ago, puckstopper1 said:

Yup - Buxton put together a wonderful ONE THIRD of a season.

 

The best ability is availability.

[beckmt]

9 hours ago, Dennesey55347 said:

Buxton has 221 AB's this year. 18 Hr's (12 solos and six 2-run shots) for a total of 24 RBI's from HR's. His other 6 RBI's came in the remaining 203 "non-HR" AB's. You read that right. That level of production outside of the long ball has to be the lowest in MLB.

T-R-A-D-E.

You seem to forget he is hitting at the top of the order, the last 3 hitters in the twins lineup have been bad this year, so his chances have not been as great as you would believe.

[Whitey333]

I really hope they sign Buxton.  I find it interesting how this and similar articles will mention injuries then as if to brush those off talk off his "great" play when he is playing.  Or extending part time numbers for full time numbers.  The fact is he IS injured a lot.  The last several years he hasn't even come close to playing half of his eligible games.  While he is a great defensive center fielder, he is a career .247 hitter over 7 years.  Let's get him signed and signed for a reasonable amount.  If you grossly overpay him where will the money come to improve the team?  Not the Pohlads with tight budgets.  20-30 mil per year for a part time player is not reasonable.  It's ludicrous!

[Brock Beauchamp]

PAY

THE

MAN

[Nine of twelve]

It is a necessity to keep him. Bear in mind we are talking about the league MVP for the next 2-3 years.

[Nine of twelve]

I tire of reading posts that reference Buxton's injuries as if every one was his fault and that project him to continue to spend significant time on the IL for the rest of his career.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

22 hours ago, FritzDahmus said:

Why should Buxton be any different than any other Twin looking to get rich off Pohlad?? Trade him, we need to rebuild our Minor League system. Prospects win championships ya know. Just ask a Pohlad.....

Plus, then you can write about the need for pitching...........and a centerfielder. 

I disagree. Period. Buck IS different. He IS unique. He IS one of a kind and I have been pulling for this franchise since 1952. There has never been a player in this franchise as exciting as Buck. He's here now. Give the man his money. He has earned it and will continue to earn it

[Linus]

Yes the injuries, we all get it. I’ve been following the Twins since the late 60s and I will say that when he is healthy he is the best overall player in the history of the franchise.  You don’t pay him and many fans like me will consider it the last straw. 
Wouldn’t it be ironic if he has good health going forward. 

[jorgenswest]

I am thankful they have him next season. Good move a few years back to protect his service time in a season where he had an OPS+ of 5. For comparison Simmons has an OPS+ of 58 this year. 

He will sign if they pay up.

[DocBauer]

On 10/1/2021 at 3:17 PM, Karbo said:

From report before the trade deadline they had agreed on the base and couldn't agree on incentives. Time to get to work on a deal guys, you got 5 months or so to come to an agreement.

This is the key!

Reports are two-fold. 

1] He wants to stay.

2] There was, reportedly, at least some agreement on the BASE salary but questions about the incentive targets.

He is STILL young. He is immensely talented, He has grown so much as a hitter. Any decline in some of his speed the next few seasons DOES NOT diminish his value as a quality defender or hitter and producer. (See Puckett). 

Let me state and propose the following; between base salary and incentives reached by just being healthy, do you  think ownership would blink/balk in the SLIGHTEST at Byron earning $25-28M in a season? No way! It would mean they had one of the best and most dynamic players in the game, Great publicity. Butts in the seats. And a player probably leading a team to the playoffs. 

The initial want and need seems to be in place on both sides, Get it done! Period.

[mnfireman]

23 hours ago, Dennesey55347 said:

Buxton has 221 AB's this year. 18 Hr's (12 solos and six 2-run shots) for a total of 24 RBI's from HR's. His other 6 RBI's came in the remaining 203 "non-HR" AB's. You read that right. That level of production outside of the long ball has to be the lowest in MLB.

T-R-A-D-E.

Of those 203 "non-HR" AB's, 82 have come with runners on base (91 PA's); he is 30-82 with 18 RBI in those AB's. With RISP he is 11-46 (50 PA's) with 11 RBI. Not a lot of chances to drive in runs....

[LastOnePicked]

He is a HALL OF FAME caliber player. If ever the Twins were going to go all in on some big $$$ for one of their own, it should be for Buxton. Great attitude. Great approach to the game. Incredible grit and talent. It's possible that the worst of his injury experience is behind him now. And even if it's not, Jim Pohlad can afford this risk.

I fear that this FO screwed up the contract extension negotiations with the highly-publicized "leak" that Buxton needed to accept their pre-deadline offer or be traded. If that leak is accurate, it represents a disgusting way to do business - particularly if Falvey/Levine authorized the leak in order to get some kind of leverage over Buxton.

Just a reminder to folks who think trading Buxton will somehow improve the team: this FO has not shown any ability to trade for prospects particularly well OR to assess prospects once they've been in the system. Seems very likely that if traded, Buxton could be lost for next-to-nothing.

If Buxton isn't re-signed, I'm not returning to Target Field for the foreseeable future. No family recreational $ for the Twins. I hope others feel the same way. Yes, keeping Buxton is costly, but it should be even costlier to let one of the great ones get away.

[mikedialect]

All I can really think about is seeing him in a Yankees jersey putting up stupid numbers. That feels gross. It's not my money but I hope they spend it.

[MABB1959]

Seems like we get the players we want/have been waiting for and so many posters love to post the negatives instead of enjoying the great players.  Granted this is a small sample of fans but most fans love the presence of a great player and don’t care about numbers.  They love seeing the amazing talent and the possibility of Berrios pitching a no-hitter or Buxton speeding around the bases or making a game winning catch. I think the Twins did themselves in with how they treated him with the service time issue.  Also money is probably a huge factor but followed closely by by the possibility of contending most years.  They are good enough to be wanted and signed by these types of teams.  This has to have been the most exciting time of Berrios’ career.  The best players want to have at least a shot of going to the WS or far in the playoffs.   This most likely isn’t going to happen during Buxton’s best years.

[TheLeviathan]

21 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

I tire of reading posts that reference Buxton's injuries as if every one was his fault and that project him to continue to spend significant time on the IL for the rest of his career.

Who cares whose fault they are?  All we have to predict the future is trends of the past.  Players with this kind of history rarely become durable.  The time of his life where his body was the most resilient was spent playing halves to thirds of seasons.  That has bearing on a 7 year contract.

[Nine of twelve]

26 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

Who cares whose fault they are?  All we have to predict the future is trends of the past.  Players with this kind of history rarely become durable.  The time of his life where his body was the most resilient was spent playing halves to thirds of seasons.  That has bearing on a 7 year contract.

If the injuries were due to something Buxton does on a day-to-day basis then there is some basis to predict the future. But they are not. Hence, it's just as legitimate, probably more so, to say that the odds are that he is due for a few injury-free seasons. But in either case past results are no guarantee of future performance.

[TheLeviathan]

7 minutes ago, Nine of twelve said:

If the injuries were due to something Buxton does on a day-to-day basis then there is some basis to predict the future. But they are not. Hence, it's just as legitimate, probably more so, to say that the odds are that he is due for a few injury-free seasons. But in either case past results are no guarantee of future performance.

Guys who get injured don't do so by choice, I don't understand why anyone thinks this is a reasonable way to look at things.  Of course Buxton isn't hurling his body purposely into injury with the intent to be injured.

The problem is that we have ample evidence that some players maintain durability and others simply don't.  Josh Donaldson isn't "doing something" or "choosing" to keep hurting his balky leg muscles.  He's just clearly more prone to injuries there.  His body can't handle the sport without more chance of injury relative to his peers.  Likewise, we have a crap ton of evidence this is the case for Buxton.  Could he suddenly be able to play baseball without getting hurt all the time?  Sure.  I hope that's the case.  I'm on board for that gamble and want an extension.  But I'm over this fairy tale that it's some kind of given he's going to be healthy.  If Vegas was doing odds on Buxton's future games played per season, I guarantee you that over/under is WAY short of 150.  It's probably short of 100.