It's Time to Move Byron Buxton to a Corner Outfield Spot

[HarmonK03]

3 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

I believe RF may be a little more open than you, but I can see Keaschall getting first chance at it.

What does Keaschall have to do to be considered basically a lock for a starting position next year.  We know about his defense, but some of this is on the coaching to get him competent at a position.  He has been our best hitter since May, he needs to be in the starting lineup day 1 next year.

[djvang]

3 hours ago, Twins GFP said:

I believe RF may be a little more open than you, but I can see Keaschall getting first chance at it.

He's shown that he doesn't have the arm for RF and every team knows it. LF maybe, but not RF or CF.

[weitz41]

I'm not going to get into the weeds on this one. I will say that the picture fits what I think Buxton would have to say about the article.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

8 hours ago, DJL44 said:

Do you think they can time things so the 80 games Buxton misses won’t overlap with the 80 games Jenkins misses?

 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

I agree. Its a natural progression down the defensive spectrum. 

My opinion, with Buxton still being a capable CFer, I'd discuss the move with him 1st to make sure hes ok with it. I feel like hes earned that. 

[dxpavelka]

16 hours ago, DJL44 said:

They can share the spot next season with Jenkins getting the games Buxton inevitably misses (and vice versa - Jenkins gets injured a lot as well).

It is perfectly okay to have two good fielders in the outfield at the same time. Some teams have three of them.

I've heard that's a thing.  

[Sampson5]

Once a actual cf joins the roster yeah but currently he's the best option in center moving him now just makes the defense worse . Once Jenkins is up I'd move buck to the corner but that's looking like a next season thing imo 

[Cody Schoenmann]

17 hours ago, Andy MacPhail said:

Buck has battled a sore hip for a good part of the season, so his defensive stats would indicate that. Even with a sore hip, he's not that bad & does not justify moving him off CF, especially when we don't have anyone, yet who can replace him.

are you actually Andy MacPhail? 

if so, can you email me? 

schoenmann34@gmail.com

[Twins GFP]

17 hours ago, HarmonK03 said:

What does Keaschall have to do to be considered basically a lock for a starting position next year.  We know about his defense, but some of this is on the coaching to get him competent at a position.  He has been our best hitter since May, he needs to be in the starting lineup day 1 next year.

I am not saying definitive no on Keaschall, just not 100% sold as of yet. If he craters over the next 45 days, would you be arguing so strongly? IMO it is just more time. The same argument applies to Lee and Culpepper...

Offseason moves could also potentially impact his role as well. Not that I expect them to make a move for an OF, but other positional juggling could impact his role as well.

[Twins GFP]

17 hours ago, djvang said:

He's shown that he doesn't have the arm for RF and every team knows it. LF maybe, but not RF or CF.

If they are running Jenkins and Buxton in CF & LF, you could put a stump out in RF and it would be ok

[HarmonK03]

2 minutes ago, Twins GFP said:

I am not saying definitive no on Keaschall, just not 100% sold as of yet. If he craters over the next 45 days, would you be arguing so strongly? IMO it is just more time. The same argument applies to Lee and Culpepper...

Offseason moves could also potentially impact his role as well. Not that I expect them to make a move for an OF, but other positional juggling could impact his role as well.

With what he has done for nearly 3 months, in my opinion he needs to be part of the lineup next year and any moves made should not to be replace unless it is a clear major league proven player with production.  He may slump just like Clemens has and Bell has or any other player will in the course of a season.  That won't outweigh the fact that he has been our best hitter for nearly three months.

[Craig Arko]

I’m not sure why Keaschall isn’t being tried in LF, which seems like the clear match for his skills. Sort of like Gladden.

Byron will remain in CF at least into 2027; when the time to transition comes he’ll probably be on board with it.

I see Emma as the starting RF next year, unless he’s traded in the offseason. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, HarmonK03 said:

With what he has done for nearly 3 months, in my opinion he needs to be part of the lineup next year and any moves made should not to be replace unless it is a clear major league proven player with production.  He may slump just like Clemens has and Bell has or any other player will in the course of a season.  That won't outweigh the fact that he has been our best hitter for nearly three months.

I'd agree Keaschall needs to be in this lineup every day. But let's not small sample his production. He's got a. 740 OPS for the season. .767 career in almost 700 PAs.

Couple that with truly substandard defense everywhere you put him, and I dont see him as someone that can't be upgraded. 

[ashbury]

15 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I'd agree Keaschall needs to be in this lineup every day. But let's not small sample his production. He's got a. 740 OPS for the season. .767 career in almost 700 PAs.

Couple that with truly substandard defense everywhere you put him, and I dont see him as someone that can't be upgraded. 

He turned 24 five days ago.  The hitting upgrade could still turn out to be himself.  Kirby Puckett didn't hit his fifth major league homer until after his 26th birthday.

[HarmonK03]

12 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I'd agree Keaschall needs to be in this lineup every day. But let's not small sample his production. He's got a. 740 OPS for the season. .767 career in almost 700 PAs.

Couple that with truly substandard defense everywhere you put him, and I dont see him as someone that can't be upgraded. 

You are correct any player can be upgraded.  But I don't want to see it with one of their fringe veteran signings.  If ERod or Jenkins pass him up, that is understandable or bring in a player with a proven track record who is not at the end of his career.  Then I can understand replacing him.

[USAFChief]

5 minutes ago, ashbury said:

He turned 24 five days ago.  The hitting upgrade could still turn out to be himself.  Kirby Puckett didn't hit his fifth major league homer until after his 26th birthday.

It certainly could.

I don't see 10 gold gloves in his future however. 

[ashbury]

14 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

It certainly could.

I don't see 10 gold gloves in his future however. 

Kirby himself won only 6 in CF, I believe.  Piker.  Maybe Keaschall can win 10 at DH.

I was quick to add "hitting" in front of upgrade when I proofread. 😄

 

[Whammy]

21 hours ago, SE23 said:

I think we can agree that Keaschall's arm is WELL below average now.

I suspect  lingering effects of the TJ surgery

At a high level, this got me thinking about something.

How differently do they treat the recovery process of a position player getting TJ surgery compared to a pitcher.

I think it's generally accepted that a pitcher regains their velocity eventually, post TJ surgery. But is that because a huge part of the recovery process for pitchers is getting all of the velocity back? Whereas when you have a position player post-TJ surgery you just aren't as concerned with getting all of that throwing velocity back. You want them back on the field and if their 50 arm turns into a 40 arm (especially for a 2B) does it matter all that much?

[HarmonK03]

2 hours ago, Craig Arko said:

I’m not sure why Keaschall isn’t being tried in LF, which seems like the clear match for his skills. Sort of like Gladden.

Byron will remain in CF at least into 2027; when the time to transition comes he’ll probably be on board with it.

I see Emma as the starting RF next year, unless he’s traded in the offseason. 

And where is Jenkins, he needs to be up here now but at the latest in the opening day lineup.  This isn't about pecking order, he is there #1 prospect and shown he is ready.  Everyone else takes a back seat.

[SE23]

15 minutes ago, Whammy said:

At a high level, this got me thinking about something.

How differently do they treat the recovery process of a position player getting TJ surgery compared to a pitcher.

I think it's generally accepted that a pitcher regains their velocity eventually, post TJ surgery. But is that because a huge part of the recovery process for pitchers is getting all of the velocity back? Whereas when you have a position player post-TJ surgery you just aren't as concerned with getting all of that throwing velocity back. You want them back on the field and if their 50 arm turns into a 40 arm (especially for a 2B) does it matter all that much?

Exactly. This raises questions about Luke's future. He's an exciting athlete with promising skills. But if his arm is really a 40 tool (or 30?), his usefulness as a defender is doutbtful -- no matter how hard he works to improve. However, if there's hope that his arm can be rehabilitated to some degree, he might have a shot at 2B or 4th OF going forward.

[Whammy]

2 minutes ago, SE23 said:

Exactly. This raises questions about Luke's future. He's an exciting athlete with promising skills. But if his arm is really a 40 tool (or 30?), his usefulness as a defender is doutbtful -- no matter how hard he works to improve. However, if there's hope that his arm can be rehabilitated to some degree, he might have a shot at 2B or 4th OF going forward.

Or… is the recovery never really set in stone. Could he, over the offseason, do a “pitcher-esque” TJ velocity recovery program to get back closer to his 50 arm (if we assume that grade wasn’t BS from the start)?

Or is he what he is at this point? The ligament has recovered and this is basically his new normal. 

I don’t know the answer

[mluebker]

On 8/19/2026 at 7:06 AM, jimbo92107 said:

I see videos of a big facility where they teach pitchers to reach the high 90's. Can't Keaschall do something like that?

Winter ball, where his errors don’t mean anything. Build up some confidence at second—the Twins already have plenty of outfielders. 

[mluebker]

On 8/19/2026 at 8:30 AM, Jacksson said:

[Buxton] does not have nearly the value to the Twins or to any other organization as a RF. 

A right fielder who can hit and maybe spend less time on the IL because he’d have less territory to cover sounds pretty good to me. A guy named Tony Oliva comes to mind.

[tony&rodney]

This will be a subject next February and March among the front office, field staff, and players. The general rule is to put players where there is the greatest benefit to the club. What arrangement in the outfield has the highest odds for contributions that win games.

[djvang]

On 8/20/2026 at 9:59 AM, Twins GFP said:

If they are running Jenkins and Buxton in CF & LF, you could put a stump out in RF and it would be ok

I disagree. Everyone is taking an extra base on him.

[dxpavelka]

On 8/19/2026 at 7:24 AM, PuckettPond said:

If the Twins do not move him his future injuries will. Keaschall in time will be great in the outfield as like Lewis are learning on the fly.

the only time I want to see Keaschall leave the dirt is when they have his OF glove burning.

[jkcarew]

On 8/19/2026 at 8:09 AM, arby58 said:

He leads the team in WAR, HRs and slugging percentage, and is second in runs scored. Pretty good for a ‘part time player.’

Part of the reason he leads the team in WAR is because he plays CF. Especially bWAR loves a center fielder. Jeffers has caught up to Buxton in fWAR. Due to Buxton’s 557 OPS since the middle of June the WAR is shrinking and the negative WPA is piling up. Coincidently, he became a part time player right around the middle of June.

[arby58]

On 8/23/2026 at 12:17 PM, jkcarew said:

Part of the reason he leads the team in WAR is because he plays CF. Especially bWAR loves a center fielder. Jeffers has caught up to Buxton in fWAR. Due to Buxton’s 557 OPS since the middle of June the WAR is shrinking and the negative WPA is piling up. Coincidently, he became a part time player right around the middle of June.

And last night he scored 4 of the Twins 9 runs.