Seeds of Doubt: How Carlos Correa’s Exit Pushed Byron Buxton Toward the Door

[tony&rodney]

50 minutes ago, rv78 said:

With his injury history, if you want to win now, you'd better have a backup plan. The Twins have had a backup plan for him since MAT when they finally realized he can't be counted on. Their plan was to win now too. How'd that worked out? If I'm a GM wanting to win now, the ONLY way I take a chance on him is if he stays at the same salary level he's at now, and I can get him for an average prospect in return since I will need another player to fill his shoes if/when he goes down again. He's not bringing much in a trade, period.

There is always a gamble, that is what I'm saying. The teams all know that. Name another available centerfielder that is even remotely close to the Silver Slugger Buxton. Everyone understands the concern about injuries. A full physical would be completed before any trade was completed. 

Another way to phrase it is to consider some scenarios, which is what every GM will do. If you are a Buxton away from a real good shot at winning the World Series, do you want Walker Jenkins or Byron Buxton playing centerfield in 2026? The teams with money can always sign a free agent but they don't want to wait a couple of years for the prospect when their window is tight. Phillies, New York teams, Detroit, Dodgers and more are calling already.

Hey, maybe I'm totally off base and Buxton has the same value across baseball as Bailey Ober and less than Matt Wallner, which is what BBTV says with their numbers. I'm just guessing a few teams (3-4) will pay a high price for Buck. All that said, I hope he remains a Twins for 5 more years and is better every year.

[KBJ1]

The Twins traded a top closer, who's contract was less than $3M. Top free agent closers are now going for 17 & 23M $$. That is twice the cost of the entire Twins bullpen! A bullpen that likely will be close to league minimum next year. No amount of "Competitive draft picks" (Colorado has 3 of the top 40 draft picks) will solve this inequality problem for MLB. The league is doomed to fail without complete revenue sharing and hard salary caps - player salaries be dammed, notwithstanding! Owners can lower ticket prices to keep revenue and salary percentages in line.  What a concept! There is no way half the teams in the league can compete, why would any top players want to play for them??