The Frustrating Side of Byron Buxton’s MVP-Caliber Season

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Byron Buxton has finally put together the season that Twins fans have been awaiting for over a decade. He’s healthy, he’s raking, and he’s turning in highlight-reel plays on a nightly basis. At his best, Buxton has always looked like an MVP, but in 2025, he’s actually putting up MVP numbers. That should be nothing but joy for Twins Territory, but there are a few reasons why his historic year feels more frustrating than it should.

1. A Painful Reminder of What Could Have Been
Buxton’s .274/.336/.561 slash line, 32 home runs, and a 142 OPS+ entering mid-September are the type of stats Twins fans used to dream about. They’re also the type of numbers that make you wonder what the last eight years could have looked like, if health had ever cooperated. Remember 2017, when he looked like a Gold Glove superstar but never quite put it together at the plate? Or 2021, when his 171 OPS+ had him looking like the best player in baseball before injuries shut him down after just 61 games? 

Buxton joined Kirby Puckett as the second player in team history with 30 home runs and 20 steals in a season. He played in over 100 games for the second consecutive season, another first for his career. This season is the payoff for all those flashes, but it’s also a gut punch. We’re not just watching greatness. We’re watching the version of Buxton we’ve been missing out on all along.

2. A Wasted Performance on a 90-Loss Team
Here’s the kicker: Buxton is finally having the year that puts him among baseball’s elite, and the Twins are stuck in the basement of the AL Central. He ranks among the top-10 in the AL in rWAR (10th), Offensive WAR (5th), SLG (4th), OPS (5th), Adj. OPS+ (5th), and Offensive Win% (3rd). He’s been one of the only reasons to tune in to watch the Twins this season, with a power-speed combination that makes him one of the game’s most exciting players. 

Put the numbers above on a playoff team, and Buxton is in every MVP conversation on national broadcasts. Instead, most of the baseball world has already moved on, and Buxton’s brilliance is happening in relative obscurity. This has happened before in Twins history. Brian Dozier accumulated 5.8 rWAR in 2016 on a Twins team that lost 103 games. Brad Radke was masterful in 1999 (6.5 rWAR) on a 97-loss team. It feels cruel, almost wasted, that the best season of his career is happening on a team barreling toward 90 losses.

3. An Uncertain Future Clouds the Joy
The biggest question lingering over Buxton’s MVP-level year might be this: Will it ever matter? Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez look like rotation anchors, but beyond this duo, the pitching staff is full of question marks. The bullpen carousel continues to spin after a trade deadline sell-off. On the offensive side, the young hitters the Twins have counted on, like Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis, haven’t taken that next step yet. 

The Minnesota farm system is one of baseball’s best, but there is no guarantee that the team’s top prospects will be able to perform at baseball’s highest level. Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and even Luke Keaschall can form the core of the next great Twins teams, but that might be multiple years away. Buxton will be in his mid-30s by that point, and there’s no guarantee that next season (or the one after that) will give him a team worthy of his talent. That cloud of uncertainty makes it hard to soak in what should be pure joy.

Buxton is doing things this year that put him in the conversation with the best players in franchise history. But instead of being remembered as the year he carried the Twins into October, it’s shaping up to be remembered as the season that left us all wondering, “what if?” For Twins fans, that’s the most frustrating part of all.

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What’s been the most frustrating part of Buxton’s season? Leave a comment and start the discussion. 

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[mikelink45]

Have you looked at the career of Mike Trout.  Or Ernie Banks or even Ted Williams?

[Whitey333]

Yes it's so unfortunate but hes not the only Twin with star caliber stats to play on poor teams or to be injured.  Buxton has had a great season no doubt.  But it's about time.  It's taken him 10 years to get here.  He should waive his no trade clause this off season so he can perhaps get traded to an organization that cares about winning.

[Doctor Gast]

Back when Buxton was approaching his FA. The talk was that Buxton didn't want to stay because the Twins screwed him over. Although it was true that the Twins screwed over Buxton, but it was a lie in that he wanted to leave. The hang-up wasn't about Buxton not wanting to stay or about money. It was about Buxton seriously wanting a no-trade clause & Falvey absolutely didn't want one. Why? Why wouldn't he want to sign a MVP-type player who really wanted to stay & didn't care about money? Why is there is so much talk about Buxton wanting get out of his no-trade clause? Why are the Twins are so quick to trade players that are very dedicated to the Twins (ex, Dozier & Varland). Through all this talk, Buxton has made it clear that he's very faithful, that's who he is. This talk is not coming from him. I'm sure there has been a ton inquireries from FOs that highly value Buxton's worth with players that'd make Falvey salvate. It'd be very understandable if he no longer wanted to be a part of this regime (I wouldn't), but he's not saying this. So until it comes out of his mouth, I'm not going to believe what social media says.

[IndianaTwin]

When's the "The Exciting Side of Byron Buxton's MVP-Caliber Season" article coming? Can we not rejoice in something going well without finding every way possible to beat people down? 

[Blyleven2011]

Do we really have players on this team that would be considered in the top 5 of the MVP voting if we were in the playoffs hunt  ...

Buxton has had a decent year , nothing spectacular  , just worthy of an honorable mention for the MVP of the league  , MVP of the twins yes ...

Like whitey333 said , there has been other players that had good years playing , if memory serves me right Rod Carew was the last twin to win a MVP on a non playoff team in 1977 and what a year he had , almost a war of 10 ...

[thelanges5]

The third point is the most depressing. The Pohlads still own the Twins. We have no idea who the limited partners are or if they’ll have any say in the direction of the team. Based on the past, we can only assume that they will continue to run this like a business and that we are looking at a 100 loss season in 2026.

[bean5302]

5 WAR does not equal MVP clearly illustrated by Buxton being 8th in the AL in terms of production this (career) year.

Writers who've been pushing the MVP thing since 2015 just cannot seem to accept and appreciate Buxton for what he is. He's a 5-6 WAR full season player. He's always been a 5-6 full season player in his prime, and that's an All Star level, not MVP level production. Despite the fact Buxton has blown expectations out of the water this year in terms of playing time, he's exactly what you'd expect; 5-6 WAR. Apart from the SSS production far outside anything he's ever done in his career in 2021, Buxton has never really looked like an MVP threat.

Brian Dozier in his prime was more valuble than Buxton. That's almost a straight up "fact" but you'll struggle to find a lot of people who lament how the Twins robbed Brian Dozier of a chance to win it all because of whatever narrative. You'll struggle to find people lamenting how fast Dozier's career ended as well. What might have been stuff.

Buxton owns a career .286 OPS in the postseason and he was hurt in 4 of 6 post season opponent series/games the Twins had. I don't think it's reasonable to blame ownership or Buxton for not honoring commitments to each other, really.

[rdehring]

Why Cody, have you decided you needed to rain on Buxton's parade?

[mikelink45]

Getting traded to a better team does not guarantee World Series glory.  Is Correa going to be in the series?  Did signing Juan Soto give the Mets the status as the team to beat?  Duran and Varland may have the best chances for post season glory.  This is the story of sports - only one champion, lots of good players throughout the league.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Getting traded to a better team does not guarantee World Series glory.  Is Correa going to be in the series?  Did signing Juan Soto give the Mets the status as the team to beat?  Duran and Varland may have the best chances for post season glory.  This is the story of sports - only one champion, lots of good players throughout the league.

TC should acquire more of the good players.