Why New York Mets May Finally Push for a Byron Buxton Blockbuster Trade

[SteveLV]

Alvarez, not Vasquez.  Had a catcher brain fart there! :)

[Seansy]

Sadly, this feels nearly inevitable at this point. Pohlad's pocket the revenue sharing money while they can before a potential lockout and salary cap/floor while selling the fanbase on a rebuild of young players they get by trading Ryan, Lopez, Buxton and Jeffers. 

If Ober and Lewis bounce back they will be traded at the deadline too.

God willing we do get a cap and floor so the Pohlads will be forced to spend.

[JBK]

I don't think our front office is smart enough to pull off a blockbuster trade.  They'll take whatever the Mets offer and then try to sell it as a "coup".  I.E., see Alan Rhoden and James Outman trades.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

10 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Maybe during or after the winter meetings we will have something more substantial to talk about ...

Since we don't exactly know what direction the owners and FO are going , it has everyone speculating that we are going to trade off the rest of our valued players  , me included ...

It would be nice to have a FO think more about the fans than they do , I feel invisible  ...

I hear you Bly. This thing that we care about is really beyond our control. I, too, have a feeling of not being able to fix this problem. But it helps to have a Twins Daily community with whom we can share our feelings of despair and of hope. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat. 

[rv78]

11 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I hope the Buck Truck remains headquartered in Minneapolis until he retires. He is that special as a player, as a leader, as a Minnesota Twin. 

Hate to say it but ... yeah, he's been so special in 2 of his 11 seasons, that we'd miss him, again, and again, and again.

[rv78]

Really doesn't matter what the Twins can get from the Mets, or any other team for that matter. If Buck doesn't want to play for that team, he's not going there. If Falvey and Buck have been talking, Falvey already knows where Buck will go and where he won't. The Mets could offer their top 5 minor leaguers and it won't matter. Buck can say no. If the Braves are the only place he'll go and they offer 2 average fill-in type minor leaguers, that might be all Falvey will get in return. Falvey has NO leverage to make a good deal. It all falls on Buck.

 

[Old Crow]

15 hours ago, old nurse said:

If Buxton is waiving his no trade clause it would seem reasonable to consider he would want a significant raise and added years. 

Sandy Anderson said that after the Verlander and Scherzer flop for money that the Mets were going to have to develop more in house talent. Their pitching has been not an asset. I doubt they would give up what they have difficulty procuring.   It would take a sharp computer programmer to figure out what Mets prospects in the lower ranks are going to be good. The Twins only  have one pro scout

Leaving the crack Twins front office vulnerable to another hornswaggle.

[NYCTK]

10 hours ago, TJSweens said:

An all star, platinum glove CF with 30 HR power who can steal bases and is at a below market deal for 3 years should Garner a return of any of the prospects listed after #1.

It's a bit weird though. I feel like I wouldn't want my team to trade for Buxton outside of the trade deadline. He's just such a constant massive health question that no one can ever believe he's ready to play. 

As talented as he is, he's not helped the Twins win that much in his tenure because he's impossible to rely on. Through no fault of his own. 

As a Mets fan I don't think I'd trade Benge for Buxton straight up. 

[SteveLV]

I have a sneaky feeling the Dodgers might be the team that gets Buxton if he is traded.  And they have lots of OFers as prospects, but most of them a couple years away.....

[Major League Ready]

56 minutes ago, rv78 said:

Really doesn't matter what the Twins can get from the Mets, or any other team for that matter. If Buck doesn't want to play for that team, he's not going there. If Falvey and Buck have been talking, Falvey already knows where Buck will go and where he won't. The Mets could offer their top 5 minor leaguers and it won't matter. Buck can say no. If the Braves are the only place he'll go and they offer 2 average fill-in type minor leaguers, that might be all Falvey will get in return. Falvey has NO leverage to make a good deal. It all falls on Buck.

 

You speak as if Falvey has to trade him.  If Falvey can't get a good return, he can simply hold on to him.  If Buxton wants out, he will have to be reasonably cooperative to facilitate his wishes.   What they could do is offer to add a year or two to his deal and then pay part of it in the deal.  That would probably look pretty good to a guy who's contract expires going into his age 35 season.

[rdehring]

None of us have a clue what this FO plans are for developing next year's roster.  We also don't know if there is any substance to the reports Buxton is changing his mind on remaining a life long Twin.

Assuming that is the case and the Mets are an option, Falvey must begin his conversation by stating the return we will accept begins with McLean, plus another player.  Second player doesn't need to be someone listed above, but must be part of their top 10 or 12 prospects.  If they aren't willing to include McLean, no need to continue talking.

As for a replacement for Buxton, the Twins have several outfielders who are playing center in the minors.  Gotta believe Jenkins or EmRod could both play quality defense until such time as they find their next stud defensive center fielder.  

[NYCTK]

15 hours ago, shimrod said:

Yeah, that no trade clause means Buxton is only as cheap as he wants to be. Buxton should demand a hefty salary increase. If that reduces the return to the Twins...why should Buxton care? 

I don't think that's accurate. He can request it, and make that well known as a part of the waiving of the clause, but he can't get that contract extension before he gets traded. And no team is forced to renegotiate an existing 3 year contract. 

[Whitey333]

I think the Twins may owe it to Buxton to trade him to a contending team IF that is what he wants.  Listen Buck had a great 2025.  Im happy for him.  But 2025 and 2017 were tge only 2 years he played full time in 10 seasons with the Twins.  We all know his injury problems.  He's been ultra dedicated to keep playing.  Whereas he was statistically under paid in 2025 he still has been compensated very well by the Twins.  100 million dollars given to a part time injured player is very generous.  I don't see teams looking to hand him a huge new contract with his non dependable playing status.  I actually hope that if he leaves it's by HIS choice and that he does extremely well wherever he ends up.

[laloesch]

18 hours ago, sweetmusicviola16 said:

Ryan and Buxton to NYM for Tong, Sproat, Reimer and a couple of high upside prospects. Another C Yovanny Rodriguez interests me as one of those. Maybe if we have 3 or 4 C prospects in the system we can hit on one or two.

This.

[Deadfan]

Merely calling Buxtons glove in centerfield "playable" is the understatement of the century. 

[laloesch]

11 hours ago, Seansy said:

Sadly, this feels nearly inevitable at this point. Pohlad's pocket the revenue sharing money while they can before a potential lockout and salary cap/floor while selling the fanbase on a rebuild of young players they get by trading Ryan, Lopez, Buxton and Jeffers. 

If Ober and Lewis bounce back they will be traded at the deadline too.

God willing we do get a cap and floor so the Pohlads will be forced to spend.

Don't forget the 400 million in debt the Pohlads shifted to the franchise from their commercial real-estate holdings.  The debt is REAL, a good chunk of which came from Carousel Motors, which they are selling. I think this is why they are bringing the limited partners into the fold to try and raise quick cash and supplement the steep losses they've incurred the last few years.  Reportedly they are running a 40 million a year deficit on the Twins.  If that's true (and I have my doubts) they possibly could slash payroll even further and the next logical candidates to do so are Lopez, Ryan, and Buxton (assuming he waves his no trade clause). It makes sense that they try and do this and pile up as much cash with a majority pre-arbitration payroll prior to 2027 as it's very likely MLB is gonna experience a work stoppage with the collective bargaining agreement expiring.

[Paved Paradise]

I'd hate to see Buxton go. But, why would he want to play on a 4A team? He should be starring in October post season games. 

[lake_guy]

6 hours ago, JBK said:

I don't think our front office is smart enough to pull off a blockbuster trade.  They'll take whatever the Mets offer and then try to sell it as a "coup".  I.E., see Alan Rhoden and James Outman trades.

Exactly this.  If this happens you can count on Falvey and the stooges to get little real value out of it.

[Heiny]

16 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Maybe during or after the winter meetings we will have something more substantial to talk about ...

Since we don't exactly know what direction the owners and FO are going , it has everyone speculating that we are going to trade off the rest of our valued players  , me included ...

It would be nice to have a FO think more about the fans than they do , I feel invisible  ...

I can't see you!!!!!

[pistolpete612]

Not a big fan of any of these random minor league offers, If they were worth a salt they wouldn't be mentioned as trade bait, The pipeline ratings are laughable at best, Old Mike Hessman is still the minor league home run king and last I checked, he mustered 14 home runs in the bigs on three different teams.  I mean the dodgers pipeline is why they bought two former world series MVP's and the three best players from the far east while fleecing teams for quality players who are already at the major league level.  Getting really tired of being treated like a farm team for national media darling teams. Oh "the Twins are the most intriguing team this winter," I can't wait to be held over the barrel for our star players. C'mon man....  We are projected to be an 82 win team and that is without a bullpen, I'm keep the faith (until they deal Ryan and Buxton, and Lopez), now go and get a bullpen and get after it....

...But lets be real, If we tell this team they suck enough, they will believe it, right? Am I right? Larnach anybody....

Mike Hessman: 6'-5" 215 lbs.

Career MLB stats :

Games (109) AB (223) Hits (42) RBI's (33) HR's (14)

Yeah, Pipeline. Believe.

[laloesch]

On 12/5/2025 at 10:11 AM, rdehring said:

None of us have a clue what this FO plans are for developing next year's roster.  We also don't know if there is any substance to the reports Buxton is changing his mind on remaining a life long Twin.

Assuming that is the case and the Mets are an option, Falvey must begin his conversation by stating the return we will accept begins with McLean, plus another player.  Second player doesn't need to be someone listed above, but must be part of their top 10 or 12 prospects.  If they aren't willing to include McLean, no need to continue talking.

As for a replacement for Buxton, the Twins have several outfielders who are playing center in the minors.  Gotta believe Jenkins or EmRod could both play quality defense until such time as they find their next stud defensive center fielder.  

And why did you down vote my post? just curious.  Is it because i pointed out the debt from the Pohlads being shifted to the Twins franchise?  That's fact, not conjecture.  

[rdehring]

20 hours ago, laloesch said:

And why did you down vote my post? just curious.  Is it because i pointed out the debt from the Pohlads being shifted to the Twins franchise?  That's fact, not conjecture.  

Yes.  If you would have read several older articles in the Star Tribune business sections you would have seen that all the blog posts about the Twins debt coming from their other ventures is false.  Personally, I will take the word of the professional business writers in the Strib over any/most people posting on this and other sites.