Can a Healthy Offseason Help Byron Buxton’s 2025 Performance?

Byron Buxton and the word 'healthy' are rarely used in the same sentence. Injuries have impacted him throughout his professional career, to the point where it has become the main talking point for his detractors. However, he set new milestones in 2024 while also proving that he can still handle the rigors of center field. Now, he is heading into one of the most critical offseasons of his career and might be healthy enough to build on his positive momentum from last season. 

He played in over 100 games for only the second time in his career. His 138 OPS+ was his second-highest mark, with only his 2021 season ranking higher. His xSLG, wOBA, and xwOBACON ranked in the top 7% among MLB hitters. He also dropped his strikeout rate from 31.4% last season to 26.0% in 2024. Among AL center fielders, only Aaron Judge ranked higher than Buxton in wRC+, SLG, and xwOBA. He was a borderline All-Star and provided the Twins with more value than the team likely expected entering the season. 

Many fans still complain about his lack of availability, but Buxton continues to provide significant value. Minnesota is paying him $15 million per season as part of the 7-year, $100-million contract he signed leading into the 2022 campaign. Last season, FanGraphs estimated his value at $29.4 million. He’s been worth over $24 million in every full season since 2019, except 2023, when he was a full-time DH. The Twins have paid Buxton $39 million over the last three seasons, and he has provided the team with $62 million in value.

Buxton was in a reflective mood with the media as the season ended. He and Carlos Correa had to rush back to try and help the team in the final weeks, but it was too late for the team’s best players to make an impact. It was a disappointing end to the year, but there were personal goals that he reached despite the team’s collapse. 

“It’s not where we want to be, but I don’t look at it as a negative,” Buxton said. “There’s a lot of positives for me this year. I had goals set for myself, and I achieved them. So it’s all about taking those little small wins and building off of those and just going from there.”

So, how can Buxton build off his successes in 2024? This will be the first time in the last six seasons that he enters the offseason without a lingering injury or surgery on the horizon. Some obvious benefits to being relatively healthy entering the winter include better preparation for next season. 

Based on his 2024 campaign, Buxton can take the necessary steps to reach bigger benchmarks in future seasons. He played 102 games in 2024, so reaching the 115-120 range for games played is a reasonable next step. Defensively, he played nearly 770 innings in center field, the second-highest total of his career, so a goal of 850 innings in center should be attainable. Overall, he likely would have preferred to be on the field more in the second half when the team was collapsing. So, the Twins and Buxton will need to continue to monitor his workload to avoid nagging injuries compiling during the year and keeping him off the field in September. Some of these goals would have seemed outlandish during last offseason, but Buxton is in a different place this winter that can better prepare him for 2025. 

There are no guarantees when it comes to Buxton’s health, but this season was the first step toward a healthy and more productive center fielder. Buxton is unlikely ever to play 150-plus games in a season, but fewer than 30 AL players reached that total last season. Even in 100 games, Buxton provided enough value to the Twins to put him in the conversation for the second-best center fielder in the league. The 2025 season was an excellent first step, but Buxton has bigger goals moving forward. 

What should the expectations be for Buxton in 2025? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.