Byron Buxton's Playoff Role Might Be Big Bench Bat

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

The St. Paul Saints schedule ending on the 24th isn't a concern. What Byron needs to do to rehab and play the game of baseball  physically is the same in St. Paul as it is in Minneapolis. 

Once the Twins clinch does it matter if Byron ramps up in St. Paul or in the majors? It doesn't... Once we clinch, we can absorb his rustiness/rehabbing without penalty... we could start Glunn, Ashbury or Chpettit19 in Centerfield for the final week of the season and it won't matter in the standings so the Saints schedule coming to an end isn't a factor. We can ramp him up for the playoffs right here if needed.  

I was sleeping in med school so I'm just going to listen to the reports from the head trainer who is saying that he will be back.

My only hope is that Byron is honest about his current status at all times. I don't want him saying he is fine if he is not. I don't want him trying to hide anything just to get in the game.

I hope Byron realizes that Michael A. Taylor at 100% is better than he is at 40% and for the sake of the team... he steps aside with honest communication. 

If healthy... he could be a game changer. Let's get him healthy and hope for honest communication.     

Starting me in CF would sell more tickets, though, so the Pohlads may like that idea. Like the "freak show" at the circus. People love to stare at oddities. 

[Fritzderkat]

The Twins have done fine without him, Taylor and Castro in particular. It is painful to watch Buxton bat.

[RpR]

9 minutes ago, Fritzderkat said:

The Twins have done fine without him, Taylor and Castro in particular. It is painful to watch Buxton bat.

Let him heal  until next spring.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

8 hours ago, Logi_Clevs said:

I think the most important thing is that whether he is on the playoff roster or not, Buck just needs to be present with the team. He is a leader - he wants to be a leader. I think with his veteran status now, he will know how to excel in his role no matter what it is - even if it is a "hype man" in the dugout giving high fives and creating new handshakes with anyone and everyone. I can almost guarantee he misses the team and will do whatever he can to play any sort of role and be back with them. 

Good points.

[stringer bell]

Buxton will get a rehab start tomorrow with St. Paul. 
 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/byron-buxton-to-begin-rehab-assignment.html

[joefish]

Have him take BP off of nothing but lefties. Every day. All day. If they must, use him as a pinch hitter against those nasty left handed relievers. 

[Fat Calvin]

Please don't get me wrong, but I don't want to see or hear Buxton's name for the rest of the year!

Scratch that; you can get me wrong if you want to.

[Jocko87]

9 hours ago, MABB1959 said:

Another big factor is he cannot run without hurting

But so far the hurting comes after the running.  He can certainly still do it in the moment but tomorrow might be another story.

Which leads to the obvious point.  He will be on the roster unless something drastic (new injury) happens in St Paul.  They saved the shots to be ready for these games and this ramp up is purely for the postseason.  They probably could have started this process a few weeks ago but the timing is everything.  Knowing that they can replace an injured player makes it all the more obvious he will start on the roster.

We can talk about what is his best role and what not but there is no question he is on the roster.  Just stop it with that.

Also, mark me down for another guarantee.  He does not get pinch run for, in any circumstance.  Any injury that prevents him from running also prevents him from being in the game.  As I said, the hurting is after the running so far but the running is still really, really good.  I could even see him pinch running.

[Dave Borton]

11 hours ago, Rosterman said:

Again, BEST 26

Sept 1, rosters moved to 28.

[Oldgoat_MN]

Every Twins fan would love to see a healthy, productive Byron Buxton on the postseason roster. 

That said, a roster with Buxton and Gallo is leaving stats behind and leaning towards longshot odds.

[Ex-Iowegian]

Statistically this year, Buxton has been no better or worse than Gallo. And I wouldn’t want Gallo on my playoff team, either. Big bench bat is a waste of space for either.

[John Belinski]

20 hours ago, DJL44 said:

This is exactly his role on a postseason roster. Pinch hit Buxton and pinch run Stevenson if he walks.

Since Buxton swings at every pitch he will not be getting a walk and will likely strike out so they will not need a pinch runner for him.

[KBJ1]

If he can't play the field he should not be on the roster. If he was batting 300 with 30HR's like Nelson Cruz, sure, but he is far from that. We don't need two Joey Gallos, we don't even need one!

[Otaknam]

Sadly Buxton can’t be counted on for the playoffs, for next year, and maybe not after that. The team has played well without him lately. Buxton always takes two weeks to get his timing back, meanwhile piling up strikeouts and leaving runners on base. The team should strongly consider signing Michael A. Taylor to an extension given that it’s unlikely Buxton will ever be able to play more than 100 games. 

[saviking]

19 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Which Buxton would you be getting back in the playoffs? Superstar, top 10 talent on the planet Buxton? Or K machine Buxton? That should be the deciding factor, but the problem is you really don't have time to figure that out unless he's back very, very soon, and I don't think that's happening.

The Twins are better off without bad Buxton in the lineup, but significantly better with great Buxton in the lineup. He can be great Buxton for short stints, and carry the team. People like to think there's some magic formula for winning in the postseason, but the magic formula is just being the team with the most guys that get hot for a month with extra off days. Hot Buxton is a series winning player. Cold Buxton is a series losing player. I just don't think they can give him any real playoff run if he's not back in the regular season and showing he's great Buxton. 

It's a really tough decision for rostering him if he's healthy. The real options are that he's a starter or non-roster player. I don't know that a bench role is a good option for him. If he's bad Buxton he's not one of your top 14-15 bats. If he's good Buxton he's your best bat. So, in my opinion, you're either starting him or just leave him off the roster.

The real question is: who doesn't make the roster if Buxton does, and what is their utility? If it's swapping Luplow for Buxton as a righthanded pinch hitter, I'm fine with that. But as a utility player, I think Stevenson's base-stealing ability is a great asset to have. If it's Buxton vs Gallo I say Buxton all day. There is only room for one of them at best. 

[laloesch]

20 hours ago, Logi_Clevs said:

I disagree. Leaders generally tell themselves "I'll be okay, let me play through this for my team." Leaders aren't always the team's best player and the team's best player isn't always their leader. They are the clubhouse presence that everyone looks and turns to, which I think Buxton was and still is. 

No that's someone that just plays through an injury.  No leadership is required to do that.  Sorry.

[laloesch]

2 hours ago, Otaknam said:

Sadly Buxton can’t be counted on for the playoffs, for next year, and maybe not after that. The team has played well without him lately. Buxton always takes two weeks to get his timing back, meanwhile piling up strikeouts and leaving runners on base. The team should strongly consider signing Michael A. Taylor to an extension given that it’s unlikely Buxton will ever be able to play more than 100 games. 

Or sign someone better.  Don't get me wrong i like Taylor but he's a weak bat much of the time and I think the Twins can do better in CF.  IMO Buxton's time has come and gone in CF.  The guy simply can't stay healthy and certainly shouldn't be DHing or Pinch hitting in the playoffs for this team.  I'd rather he ride the bench this post season.  It's addition by subtraction. 

Buxton has had one season where he played 100+ games and didn't spend significant time on the disabled list or out with injury and that was 2017.   Now look at Aaron judge as comparison.  Aaron got called up in 2016, so one year later than Buxton, but look at the difference in games played.  Aaron has recorded 5 seasons of 100+ games played in contrast to Buxton's ONE!  Byron simply isn't a rugged player athletically.  When a critical piece of the lineup is absent as much as he has been it's disruptive to the flow of the offense.  When he comes back everyone has to adjust (disruption), then he's hurt again and the rest of the guys have to adjust (disruption), repeat, repeat, repeat.  The lineup seems to be doing better now offensively and tha'ts because they've finally ADJUSTED.  Buxton should probably retire honestly. It's really too bad.  

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, saviking said:

The real question is: who doesn't make the roster if Buxton does, and what is their utility? If it's swapping Luplow for Buxton as a righthanded pinch hitter, I'm fine with that. But as a utility player, I think Stevenson's base-stealing ability is a great asset to have. If it's Buxton vs Gallo I say Buxton all day. There is only room for one of them at best. 

But I think that comes back to my original question: Which Buxton are you getting? Good Buxton is a better base stealer than Stevenson. He's a better everything than Stevenson. But bad Buxton isn't. So you have to know which Buxton you're getting. Much to my surprise he's heading back to St Paul today, I believe, so maybe we'll get a chance to see what he's like and see if he's good Buxton or bad Buxton.

[Battle ur tail off]

3 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

But I think that comes back to my original question: Which Buxton are you getting? Good Buxton is a better base stealer than Stevenson. He's a better everything than Stevenson. But bad Buxton isn't. So you have to know which Buxton you're getting. Much to my surprise he's heading back to St Paul today, I believe, so maybe we'll get a chance to see what he's like and see if he's good Buxton or bad Buxton.

I am not surprised at all. He has rested for like 2 months. If he isn't going to be ready now, he never is. 

I am with you on good vs bad Buxton. The fact of the matter though is, Buxton has always been streaky because he is 100% a guess hitter. He flat out has a hard time picking up spin out of the hand. This leads to peaks and valleys in his hitting. I'm hoping for him to come back and peak. 

[chpettit19]

Just now, Battle ur tail off said:

I am not surprised at all. He has rested for like 2 months. If he isn't going to be ready now, he never is. 

I am with you on good vs bad Buxton. The fact of the matter though is, Buxton has always been streaky because he is 100% a guess hitter. He flat out has a hard time picking up spin out of the hand. This leads to peaks and valleys in his hitting. I'm hoping for him to come back and peak. 

Well he just stopped a rehab assignment after 7 innings in CF that required a trip to Mayo to see new specialists to come up with an answer. So 2 months of rest got him 7 innings and a trip to one the best hospitals in the world. I'm a little surprised that a shot and an extra week means he's now ready.

Yeah, its hard to judge much about Buxton in a short period of time because of the streakiness. They mostly just have to determine how healthy he is, probably.

[Hubie29]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:23 AM, adorduan said:

They don't need a pinch hitter to go up and K.........

Exactly!  You know that's what would happen.  I've played it out 100 times in my mind, that's all I see. 

[Hubie29]

On 9/20/2023 at 1:02 PM, Logi_Clevs said:

I think the most important thing is that whether he is on the playoff roster or not, Buck just needs to be present with the team. He is a leader - he wants to be a leader. I think with his veteran status now, he will know how to excel in his role no matter what it is - even if it is a "hype man" in the dugout giving high fives and creating new handshakes with anyone and everyone. I can almost guarantee he misses the team and will do whatever he can to play any sort of role and be back with them. 

I agree, as long as they keep a bat out of his hands in a key situation

[317robin]

Let him rehab till next season. We’ve got good thing going right now. Sticking him on the roster now takes a spot away from other producing players. We don’t have the time right now to figure out if he can be productive or not. Give him a rest.

[wabene]

20 hours ago, joefish said:

Have him take BP off of nothing but lefties. Every day. All day. If they must, use him as a pinch hitter against those nasty left handed relievers. 

Bold statement!

[Vanimal46]

Buxton went 1-4 with an RBI single and 2 ks as the DH for the Saints tonight. Is this the new goal for him to potentially contribute as a bat only? Will he try playing in the field in the coming days?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I would be concerned about Paparesta’s  statement about Buxton being ready to play, come hell or high water. 

That said, my view is to ramp up Buxton an inning or two at a time, yes in center field, for the rest of the regular season. Then send him out there for Game 1, batting sixth.

If it turns out he’s the good Buxton, no regrets. And it will shut up the naysayers like me. This was the whole point of letting him take it easy in the first place. Sitting him for the playoffs or leaving him off the roster does nothing but keep feeding the unhealthy speculation. I have no idea if Buxton can play in the field 9 innings three days in a row, but I would like to find out. Maybe he DH’s the middle game. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Hosken Bombo Disco

[USAFChief]

10 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

I would be concerned about Paparesta’s  statement about Buxton being ready to play, come hell or high water. 

That said, my view is to ramp up Buxton an inning or two at a time, yes in center field, for the rest of the regular season. Then send him out there for Game 1, batting sixth.

If it turns out he’s the good Buxton, no regrets. And it will shut up the naysayers like me. This was the whole point of letting him take it easy in the first place. Sitting him for the playoffs or leaving him off the roster does nothing but keep feeding the unhealthy speculation. I have no idea if Buxton can play in the field 9 innings three days in a row, but I would like to find out. Maybe he DH’s the middle game. 

I don't think the post season is the time to "find out" anything.

Ramp up Buxton for spring training. Find out then.

BTW, "unhealthy speculation" should have zero impact on anything. Certainly not something to base a playoff starting spot on. Holy cow.

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

I don't think the post season is the time to "find out" anything.

Ramp up Buxton for spring training. Find out then.

BTW, "unhealthy speculation" should have zero impact on anything. Certainly not something to base a playoff starting spot on. Holy cow.

 

 

I mean, I think you know where I stand on this front office. Likewise, I have been opposed to how they have handled Buxton at every step, and their handling of Buxton has pretty much failed at every step.

Their whole project was to have Buxton ready for the postseason. They are now on the doorstep of the postseason. Why bail out now? Roll the dice and see what happens…

[Battle ur tail off]

2 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I don't think the post season is the time to "find out" anything.

Ramp up Buxton for spring training. Find out then.

BTW, "unhealthy speculation" should have zero impact on anything. Certainly not something to base a playoff starting spot on. Holy cow.

 

 

With you, but man if he got hot, he can carry you. IDK, I think it would be worth giving him 2-3 ABs in the first series anyway. 

 

If they don't use him anymore this year, my advice is to have him rest and not do anything until about April. Start his season in AAA in about the middle of May, bring him up for June and see if he can last the year. 

Flat out this guy will never play a full season. I would rather have him for the last half of the year than the start. 

 

PS He can sit on his couch all winter, put on his oculus and do some WIN reality. Learn how to pickup spin. He is terrible at it and it leads to a zillion K's.