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  • 4 Possible Teams Interested in a Byron Buxton Trade


    Cody Christie

    Byron Buxton might be unhappy in Minnesota, and this can lead to plenty of speculation about his future. Here are four contending teams that might be interested in a Buxton deal before the deadline.

    Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

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    According to the Star Tribune’s Patrick Reusse, Buxton might be unhappy with the Twins. There are a variety of reasons Buxton might be displeased including the handling of his service time back at the end of 2018. If he had been called up in September that year, he would reach free agency this winter. Instead, he has one more year of team control.

    From the Twins perspective, this extra year is very valuable, because it allows the team to keep him for 2022 or it adds to what the team can get in a trade. Obviously, Buxton is going to need to come back and show that he is healthy for other teams to seriously consider a trade  So, what teams need a centerfield upgrade for October?

    New York Yankees

    Twins fans might not want to hear it, but the Yankees make a lot of sense when it comes to a Buxton deal. Former Twin Aaron Hicks is recovering from left wrist surgery. New York has been shuffling through a lot of non-traditional center field options in recent weeks like Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner. Among AL teams, only the Mariners and Tigers have gotten less WAR in centerfield than the Yankees. It’s also been widely reported that Yankees GM Brian Cashman is open to dealing for a center field upgrade.

    Houston Astros

    Houston saw their long-time centerfielder, George Springer, leave via free agency last winter and now the club might be looking for an upgrade for a postseason run. The Astros find themselves in the second Wild Card position and their primary center fielder, Myles Straw, is not exactly a household name. Only two positions on the Astros, CF and C, have produced an OPS under .800 this year. Straw entered play on Tuesday with a .637 OPS and 10 extra-base hits in 61 games. Among AL teams, the Astros have gotten the 10th lowest WAR total out of the center field position.

    Milwaukee Brewers

    The Brewers are in the thick of the NL Central race and they have the NL Wild Card spot to fall back on if they lose out in the division title. Only one NL team, the Braves, have accumulate less WAR in center than the Brewers. Most of Milwaukee’s negative WAR total has come on the offensive side where their center fielders have combined for a -15.6 offensive runs above average which is the worst in baseball. As a small market team, Milwaukee needs to take advantage of every postseason opportunity, especially since the club has made the playoffs in three of the last four years.

    Boston Red Sox

    After finishing in last place last season, the Red Sox are back in the hunt for the AL East crown. There have been offensive struggles at multiple positions in their line-up, so Buxton provides an opportunity for an offensive upgrade. Enrique Hernandez has played the most games in center, but his .669 OPS isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire. Also, Boston hasn’t been getting a lot of production at first base, so maybe they would be interested in a package deal that includes Buxton and Sano.

    Do you think Buxton gets dealt to one of these teams? What other teams could make the list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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    2 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

    I think that loses too much value in trade. If the Twins want to make an offer, do it now or trade them. Teams are likely willing to pay a lot more for that half a season while in contention and to fill an immediate need. In the offseason, teams can sign or trade for anyone on the market and the supply is more limited at the trade deadline.

    That might be true with Berrios, I don't think it is with Buxton. Trying to do a deal now would be tough. I would probably like to get some current MLB pieces back, which is unlikely. I think you can get a better deal for Buxton in the offseason. Berrios is the more likely of the two to sign an extension. So either way, I don't trade either of them now. Besides we have enough other trade pieces to worry about in the next 45 days.

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    If you trade Buxton and/or Berrios, you are entering 3-5 years of baseball nuclear winter for Minnesota. But it should be done, if the haul is big enough. Minnesota is a great place but it has major strikes (pun intended) against it in competing for free agents. Those negatives include; bad weather, high marginal state income taxes, and a long history of playoff exclusion or irrelevance. The only free agents that we get "lucky" with are veterans on the downside of their careers chasing the last dollar. Josh Donaldson raise your hand. You can not operate based upon what players want. Often, they don't even know what they want. The only way for Minnesota to compete is to develop and effectively use a strong farm system which includes restocking it through trading if the value is right (the Tampa Bay model). Everything else is folly.  

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    1 hour ago, Platoon said:

    I agree with this, but as usual there is a but! Yes try and sign him if you can, but if it’s apparent you cannot, then move him this year for the best deal offered. Reusse likely has sources we don’t. And if he doesn’t want to play here money won’t do it, he can get that anywhere. I agree, he is one of the best players in the league when healthy. But those days are so few and far between. That does mitigate his overall value, to both us, and others. 

    Reusse already acknowledged that his "he's not happy here" take is only his gut. Doesn't mean he's wrong of course. The last 10 days of "rehab" have been odd at best.

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    5 minutes ago, Johnny Ringo said:

    If you trade Buxton and/or Berrios, you are entering 3-5 years of baseball nuclear winter for Minnesota. But it should be done, if the haul is big enough. Minnesota is a great place but it has major strikes (pun intended) against it in competing for free agents. Those negatives include; bad weather, high marginal state income taxes, and a long history of playoff exclusion or irrelevance. The only free agents that we get "lucky" with are veterans on the downside of their careers chasing the last dollar. Josh Donaldson raise your hand. You can not operate based upon what players want. Often, they don't even know what they want. The only way for Minnesota to compete is to develop and effectively use a strong farm system which includes restocking it through trading if the value is right (the Tampa Bay model). Everything else is folly.  

    I don't fully agree. It means you to have to be willing to slightly overpay, as you won't get chosen too often if they have equal offers. And subsequently you can't afford to be wrong very often. Take 19-20 off-season.

     

    We wanted Wheeler but wouldn't top the Phillies offer. We wanted MadBaum but he wouldn't come here (you're right in this case). We wanted Kuchel but let the White Sox outbid us. We end up spending it on Donaldson instead. But he certainly had other options. In hindsight, we certainly wouldh have been better off over-paying for Wheeler for Kuechel than giving Donaldson $93 million.

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    1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

    Tampa would trade him. 100%. 

    It would be interesting to know what Tampa would trade Buxton for if they had him. Those guys really know how to assess player value both in terms of production and cost and build a competitive team. It's really impressive and I don't think you can really copy it effectively. Some of their trades seem misguided at first but then you see the results in the W/L column and you realize they've done it again. I hate em.

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    44 minutes ago, howeda7 said:

    That might be true with Berrios, I don't think it is with Buxton. Trying to do a deal now would be tough. I would probably like to get some current MLB pieces back, which is unlikely. I think you can get a better deal for Buxton in the offseason. Berrios is the more likely of the two to sign an extension. So either way, I don't trade either of them now. Besides we have enough other trade pieces to worry about in the next 45 days.

    Hard to say with Buxton. If he comes back and mashes for a month, I don’t think teams are going to hesitate any more than they would in the off-season.  

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    4 minutes ago, spycake said:

    Tampa may have extended him super-early though too. And maybe they wouldn't have to trade him quite yet...

    But we didn't....so the question is, what now? The comment was "no self respecting team would trade him". IMO, at least one would.

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    I would almost be willing to bet that, if Buxton does get traded, that he stays injury free for 3 straight years. And who is this Pesch character. It sounds like he cannot hit major league pitching so why would we trade for him? I'd love to see him go to the Yankees where there are no walls to crash into. But, for the Twins sake, I hope they can keep him (and Berrios) or, if necessary, trade him to the National League- but next year at the deadline if we happen to have a team like this year (doubtful).

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    3 hours ago, roger said:

    And their success is a head scratcher, at least for me.  Their payroll is what, a bit over half what we have and a fraction of the big guys.  Yet, look at the AL East, Tampa vs. the big spenders.  Don't know how they do it?  Sure hope like heck our FO would be trying to figure it out and duplicate.

    Tampa has a brass that knows how to evaluate talent. And their minor league team in Durham (near me) wins the league almost every year. That is really saying something. Plus the big spenders in the East spend much time on the disabled list.

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    If you trade Buxton, you need to get sure things back. Not a bunch of loterry tickets. Blue chip, 1st round, MLB top 10 prospect type guy(s).

    Anything else is inexcusable. You can't get a future All-star, then you keep Buxton and hope lightening strikes next year.

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    Trading Berrios will be the much harder pill for me to swallow.  We've had so few quality pitchers developed here and I just love the kids approach.

    Buxton, no matter how stirry a straw he is for the drink, is basically a part-time player.  You can't give part-time position players mega-deals.  His body isn't going to get more resilient and his best asset is going to start declining sooner than you think.  Couple that with the burned bridges we know about and let's hope he can flash for the contenders.  Moving on from his is in the best interest of this team and for the mental well being of the fans.

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    On 6/16/2021 at 8:19 AM, gunnarthor said:

    This FO is a disaster.

    Why? We haven't actually seen any of the prospects that THEY have drafted yet. Because of that, we can't determine their ability to draft and develop players. Why are they a "disaster?" Seems like a massive overreaction to one bad year.

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    4 minutes ago, cHawk said:

    Why? We haven't actually seen any of the prospects that THEY have drafted yet. Because of that, we can't determine their ability to draft and develop players. Why are they a "disaster?" Seems like a massive overreaction to one bad year.

    I agree that we don't know yet, but they do have a responsibility to develop the players already there.....because better development is part of what they need. 

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    1 minute ago, Mike Sixel said:

    I agree that we don't know yet, but they do have a responsibility to develop the players already there.....because better development is part of what they need. 

    They are responsible for some of the players already on the roster, that's true. But we can't conclude anything about their ability until we see all of Duran, Balazovic, Celestino, Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, Jeffers, Ober, Jax, Gordon, Colina, etc.

    Bottom line, the original statement that the FO is incompetent is flat out ridiculous. 

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    7 minutes ago, cHawk said:

    They are responsible for some of the players already on the roster, that's true. But we can't conclude anything about their ability until we see all of Duran, Balazovic, Celestino, Kirilloff, Larnach, Lewis, Jeffers, Ober, Jax, Gordon, Colina, etc.

    Bottom line, the original statement that the FO is incompetent is flat out ridiculous. 

    agreed on that last part for sure.........and sure, we learn more from their acquisitions than older players....but we learn a lot about their ability to develop the players that were already there, imo. 

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    7 hours ago, cHawk said:

    Why? We haven't actually seen any of the prospects that THEY have drafted yet. Because of that, we can't determine their ability to draft and develop players. Why are they a "disaster?" Seems like a massive overreaction to one bad year.

    Coming into this season, the Twins best hitting prospect (Kiriloff) and best pitching prospect (Balazovic) were guys picked by the prior regime. This FO has made a bunch of bad trades, failed to recognize the talent in the system, failed to build a pitching staff. They were given one of the best situations any new FO could hope to get and really didn't do anything to help. I'm really surprised how much rope some are willing to give Levine. And I'm really worried that Falvey is behind the five inning pitcher philosophy.

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    28 minutes ago, gunnarthor said:

    Coming into this season, the Twins best hitting prospect (Kiriloff) and best pitching prospect (Balazovic) were guys picked by the prior regime. This FO has made a bunch of bad trades, failed to recognize the talent in the system, failed to build a pitching staff. They were given one of the best situations any new FO could hope to get and really didn't do anything to help. I'm really surprised how much rope some are willing to give Levine. And I'm really worried that Falvey is behind the five inning pitcher philosophy.

    Those are areas of criticism. Quite frankly, I agree. Criticizing them and calling them incompetent are two different things with no connection whatsoever.

    I can see where you’re going with Levine. As for Falvey, let’s see how the next wave of prospects does.

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