5 Best Suitors in Byron Buxton Trade Rumors

[Mike Sixel]

Zero chance Cincy gets Buxton. So, that leaves 4.....but Atl doesn't have the prospects, so 3....

I am really on the fence on this, as i think he has 4 years of being good left, so he can be part of a good team. OTOH, he's hurt a lot, and he is older, and he isn't free (which is what they want). 

I'm guessing Mets or Dodgers at this point, because ATL doesn't have the assets.

[GNess]

4 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Because they've determined that they won't be competitive while he's here and it's more valuable to have assets that may be useful when the team is competitive again.

That being the case to trade Buxton the Twins might as well get on with it and deal Jeffers, Ryan and Lopez as well. Which would make the team basically a quasi AAA team for a while as players grow into being MLB worthy.

[PatPfund]

This is depressing stuff, but I tend to agree with @Mike Sixel's grading of the teams. Buxton isn't likely to give a blanket waiver, he'll want approval on the team, and teams as far away as the Twins from a title aren't likely to qualify.

I don't agree at all with the thoughts that Buxton gets a new contract to waive the no-trade. I don't think the Twins actually want to trade him unless blown away by an offer; he is a cost-effective superstar, the main reason to watch the Twins, and this team needs revenue in both ticket sales and Twins.tv subscriptions; carrying Byron into the season boosts both of those big time. The only reason this is happening is that Byron MAY have signaled to the team he is ready to go, and that comes with zero leverage for new contract terms.

My personal guess is that Lopez, Ryan, and Buxton are here into the season for several reasons. One the team needs revenue (bears repeating), two they probably get more in-season (think of the haul the Reds got for a gimpy shouldered SP, or what the Twins just got for a few good RPs and a batch of expiring contracts), and three it gives a few months peek at our own prospects so we can see what we actually need. Also as a personal thought, if I'm Derek Shelton there is no way I sign with the Twins without at least a chance to compete with a decent team (dude could have easily gotten a bench coach job, and waited for a less Pirate-like rerun).

[Mike Sixel]

5 minutes ago, PatPfund said:

This is depressing stuff, but I tend to agree with @Mike Sixel's grading of the teams. Buxton isn't likely to give a blanket waiver, he'll want approval on the team, and teams as far away as the Twins from a title aren't likely to qualify.

I don't agree at all with the thoughts that Buxton gets a new contract to waive the no-trade. I don't think the Twins actually want to trade him unless blown away by an offer; he is a cost-effective superstar, the main reason to watch the Twins, and this team needs revenue in both ticket sales and Twins.tv subscriptions; carrying Byron into the season boosts both of those big time. The only reason this is happening is that Byron MAY have signaled to the team he is ready to go, and that comes with zero leverage for new contract terms.

My personal guess is that Lopez, Ryan, and Buxton are here into the season for several reasons. One the team needs revenue (bears repeating), two they probably get more in-season (think of the haul the Reds got for a gimpy shouldered SP, or what the Twins just got for a few good RPs and a batch of expiring contracts), and three it gives a few months peek at our own prospects so we can see what we actually need. Also as a personal thought, if I'm Derek Shelton there is no way I sign with the Twins without at least a chance to compete with a decent team (dude could have easily gotten a bench coach job, and waited for a less Pirate-like rerun).

No way they get more for Ryan at the deadline. Just way less bidders, and 3 months less value. IMO, of course. But he's worth way more now, than later. Same with Buxton. Lopez? I think you could argue teams would want to see him pitch, but I doubt it. They do physicals, and can have him throw if needed. 

I'm unsure on ticket sales. I think all three of these likely help, but how much, I just don't know. 

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, GNess said:

That being the case to trade Buxton the Twins might as well get on with it and deal Jeffers, Ryan and Lopez as well. Which would make the team basically a quasi AAA team for a while as players grow into being MLB worthy.

They should. My stance has always been that they should pick a lane and go all in. Either try to compete or do a true rebuild, not both. I don't think they have the financial resources to try to truly compete the next 2 years so I hope they blow it up and give themselves the best chance to compete in 3+ instead.

[ashbury]

We like to talk about top-100 prospects as though they are sure things, but they are not.  It's instructive to turn the Wayback Machine to 10 years ago and have a look at the MLB list from then:

https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/2015/top100/

Sure, the tippy-top prospects in that list mostly panned out very nicely.  But the ones in someone's top-20 are not the top-100 prospects who will be available for pretty much any price. 

Will we be excited if we land somebody's #28?  The equivalent 2015 prospect was Alex Jackson, who we picked up just now for very little after he's had an un-illustrious career to date.  Right after him at #29 was Alex Meyer, who due to injury never really panned out for our Twins.  Right after Jose Berrios at #32 (hurrah!) we see Nick Gordon at #33 (meh).  Kohl Stewart at #36, anyone? Go all the way down and cast an eye at #99: Manuel Margot was an actual ballplayer for a couple of years, but I have to think hopes were higher.

Of course, I'm cherry picking, for Twins fan entertainment.  There is also in that 2015 list some nobody called Aaron Judge who was ranked #68; Realmuto is found a couple of slots later.  Future stars are scattered in a top-100.  But I think it's still a point worth remembering.  Trading a good player for even a couple of top-100 prospects is no sure thing.

Two top-100 prospects may be beyond what's attainable for Buxton.  At the same time, such return strikes me as too little for what he's really worth to his team, unless our front office suddenly becomes elite at player evaluation.

[darin617]

13 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I don't think Byron Buxton will return two top-100 prospects. He's making $15M a year. One top prospect and one lower ranked prospect is more likely.

I think the Reds are the least likely of these teams. They need the prospects more than the other four teams.

This is the exact reason the Twins could get a haul for Buxton. He also has incentives so he can earn more than 15M. 

To be honest, the Twins would be foolish to listen to offers. He's over 30 and he finally played over 100 games for the third time in his career and there's nothing to think he will keep that up.

Yes, fans will be upset with a trade but if they could get a good return it would be foolish not to deal him.

[1985Fan]

Yes, Buxton should be traded this offseason. I’m all for Twins going the full rebuild route now. They have assets to trade now to get the rebuild underway. 
There is a risk with young players that I haven’t seen noted here. Young players need to be developed properly and that is a big weakness of the Twins system. They’ll have to collect a volume of young guys and hope that despite their lousy development system that they get lucky anyway. 

[Chembry]

4 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Zero chance Cincy gets Buxton. So, that leaves 4.....but Atl doesn't have the prospects, so 3....

I am really on the fence on this, as i think he has 4 years of being good left, so he can be part of a good team. OTOH, he's hurt a lot, and he is older, and he isn't free (which is what they want). 

I'm guessing Mets or Dodgers at this point, because ATL doesn't have the assets.

Agreed, ATL just doesn’t have the capital to make that trade.  I listened to a couple of Braves podcasts today and they are speculating a package of Hurston Waldrep, JR Ritchie, and Nacho Alvarez seal the deal.  Waldrep had a good 2025 and would be a nice addition, but we need bats and Nacho Alvarez isn’t it.

I wonder if we could get Rushing from LAD for Buxton?  He was a top 20 prospect heading into 2025, but didn’t have a very nice intro to MLB, and he is blocked by Will Smith and Freddie Freeman.

But I don’t like even suggesting any of this because I really don’t want to see Buck go anywhere.  

[Whitey333]

Yes now us the time to trade Buxton when his value is relatively higher.  But I'm not expecting much in return.  He was great in 2025 but his injury history will limit his return.  But I'd trade him while you can.  The team has another reason to trade him:  15 million of them.  They are looking to dump salary so that " saves" them payroll.  He's been somewhat good for the Twins.  Played 2 'full" seasons out of 10.  This past year was awesome.  But the Twins have been good to him over the years as well.  I mean really they paid him 100 million dollars as essentially a part time player.  That's a lot of money to pay for someone who can play great but is also not someone you can count on.  Byron deserves to be traded to a team of his choosing.  He's earned that.

[DJL44]

9 hours ago, Chembry said:

Agreed, ATL just doesn’t have the capital to make that trade.  I listened to a couple of Braves podcasts today and they are speculating a package of Hurston Waldrep, JR Ritchie, and Nacho Alvarez seal the deal.  Waldrep had a good 2025 and would be a nice addition, but we need bats and Nacho Alvarez isn’t it.

I wonder if we could get Rushing from LAD for Buxton?  He was a top 20 prospect heading into 2025, but didn’t have a very nice intro to MLB, and he is blocked by Will Smith and Freddie Freeman.

But I don’t like even suggesting any of this because I really don’t want to see Buck go anywhere.  

Dalton Rushing, River Ryan, Hyesong Kim, Justin Wrobleski, Bobby Miller - several interesting players who aren't on prospect lists anymore.

[Elliot]

I love Byron Buxton as a player. He is one who can, and does, impress in so many different ways. That being said, I believe now is the time to make a trade. It may be that he will follow the Paul Molitor path and be healthier as he gets older. But odds are that is not the case. Give him a shot at a ring somewhere else and recover something for him now. The only way the Twins will contend in the next couple of years is if their next wave of young players are really good, really fast.

I am also fascinated by trade debates and discussions. I think the involvement of the top 100 list in the debate is really an example of our desire to quantify and measure everything. The reality is that evaluating prospects is probably more accurately represented by the crusty old “baseball guys” in Money Ball and Trouble with the Curve than by analytics.  The question of how many top 100 picks you can get is really pretty meaningless. It seems to imply that number 99 on that list more similar to number 9 that he is to number 101. Or that getting numbers 45, 60 and 90 (3 top 100 picks) is better than getting number 1 alone, or number 3 and 50 (only 2 top 100’s)

Prospect lists are constantly changing from year to year, and even within the year.  They also vary drastically from site to site, especially after you get beyond the top 5 per team.

It was interesting to look back at the Nelson Cruz trade. I think that Ryan and Stoltman were #10 and #17 in the TB system at the time. Ryan was #76 overall and Stoltman was not on the top 100. Although that didn’t sound like much at the time, it worked out OK. Interestingly, the second most valuable piece in that trade long term was a forgotten throw-in. Calvin Faucher never broke into the Twins top 30, much less the MLB top 100. He reached the mid 20’s in TB’s system before finally blossoming for Miami. Right now he would look pretty good in the Twins bullpen.

The truth is that, for better or worse, it all comes down to the judgement of Falvey and his team of evaluators. “Will Buxton remain healthy and productive, and happy, in Minnesota”?  “Should you trade Buxton and Ryan individually or should they be bundled to ensure receiving the top prospect package from another team”? “What is the best return available for each individually or as a package”?

As with the deadline moves, time will tell.

[Riverbrian]

19 minutes ago, Elliot said:

I love Byron Buxton as a player. He is one who can, and does, impress in so many different ways. That being said, I believe now is the time to make a trade. It may be that he will follow the Paul Molitor path and be healthier as he gets older. But odds are that is not the case. Give him a shot at a ring somewhere else and recover something for him now. The only way the Twins will contend in the next couple of years is if their next wave of young players are really good, really fast.

I am also fascinated by trade debates and discussions. I think the involvement of the top 100 list in the debate is really an example of our desire to quantify and measure everything. The reality is that evaluating prospects is probably more accurately represented by the crusty old “baseball guys” in Money Ball and Trouble with the Curve than by analytics.  The question of how many top 100 picks you can get is really pretty meaningless. It seems to imply that number 99 on that list more similar to number 9 that he is to number 101. Or that getting numbers 45, 60 and 90 (3 top 100 picks) is better than getting number 1 alone, or number 3 and 50 (only 2 top 100’s)

Prospect lists are constantly changing from year to year, and even within the year.  They also vary drastically from site to site, especially after you get beyond the top 5 per team.

It was interesting to look back at the Nelson Cruz trade. I think that Ryan and Stoltman were #10 and #17 in the TB system at the time. Ryan was #76 overall and Stoltman was not on the top 100. Although that didn’t sound like much at the time, it worked out OK. Interestingly, the second most valuable piece in that trade long term was a forgotten throw-in. Calvin Faucher never broke into the Twins top 30, much less the MLB top 100. He reached the mid 20’s in TB’s system before finally blossoming for Miami. Right now he would look pretty good in the Twins bullpen.

The truth is that, for better or worse, it all comes down to the judgement of Falvey and his team of evaluators. “Will Buxton remain healthy and productive, and happy, in Minnesota”?  “Should you trade Buxton and Ryan individually or should they be bundled to ensure receiving the top prospect package from another team”? “What is the best return available for each individually or as a package”?

As with the deadline moves, time will tell.

Great Post. I agree with much of it. 

It's just the trading Buxton part that I disagree with. 

I agree that we probably get the most value out of a Buxton deal right now IF... IF... if his contract simply follows him without adjustment to it.

However... I don't believe it will. I'd guess that the contract negotiation that is sure to come to waive his no-trade will minimize the return to the point that the trade may no longer be worth it. If Buxton doesn't demand a renegotiation in order to waive it would be a critical mistake on his part.    

Let Buxton play out his current contract. Let him lead this group of young ball players forward. We are hoping these players turn into a Buxton anyway... so let Buxton be Buxton... trading him would just be an unnecessary step back that we don't have to take. Let's see how he is doing at age 35 and then work on a new deal to keep him in a Twins uniform after that providing his career hasn't fallen off a cliff in that time. 

 

Retiring a Twin would make him a rare player in this day and age. Buxton would belong with a group of people like Cal Ripken, Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek. George Brett.      

[luckylager]

Please trade Buck, Ryan and Pablo. It will make it much easier for me to become a fan of a serious MLB team when I move south this summer. 50 years of this is quite enough. The Pohlad family has pissed on whatever loyalty I had left. 

[tony&rodney]

There are a bunch of teams interested in Buxton. Where would Byron like to go? The Twins need to demand a haul or keep Buck.

[Mahoning]

The Twins should ask Byron what he wants, and then do that. If he wants to stay, then get him some help. 

[beckmt]

On 12/3/2025 at 11:02 AM, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Of the candidates listed, I suggest that the Dodgers are the best fit for four reasons.

1. Because they are always in the playoffs and I suspect Buck would believe that it would be his absolute best chance at a ring.

2. Because the Dodgers have a wealth of MiLB talent and could afford to give up a few top prospects for a player that would immediately add value their MLB team.

3. The Dodgers have money so they could easily extend Buck if that is his wish.

4. The FO has a history of trading with the Dodgers.

The downside is that they seem to get the upper-hand with Falvey (see Outman).

I have been wavering on whether to trade Buck, but after reading more I think his value, given last season and his age, will NEVER be higher.  That, and I'd like to see him get to the playoffs and I doubt that we will get there before his career ends.

Outman was a lottery ticket as Stewart is always hurt.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  And this one looks like a nothing burger.