Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

  • Buxton and Berrios Extensions Becoming Murky

    Cody Christie

    By Cody Christie

    Minnesota has team control of Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios for the next 15 months. With free agency looming, contract extensions become a murky proposition.

    Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

    Many assumed the Twins may consider dealing Byron Buxton and/or Jose Berrios before the upcoming trade deadline. The team is out of contention and there are no guarantees the team will be able to put the pieces back in place for next year. However, reports serviced over the weekend that the team is not necessarily inclined to trade players under team control for 2022.

     

    Minnesota was supposed vying for a third consecutive AL Central title this year, so the front office may be thinking that it will be easy to retool this winter. Maybe 2021 is just a hiccup and Minnesota will be battling Chicago at the top of the division next season. Buxton and Berrios certainly make the Twins better for 2022, but there are no guarantees either will be back for 2023.

    Between the two players, the Twins may have a better shot at signing Buxton to a long-term extension. Ken Rosenthal reported the Twins latest offer is more than the $70 million deal Aaron Hicks signed with the Yankees back in 2019. It also would include escalators and incentives to add to the contract’s overall value.

    Any Buxton extension comes with risk. This is a player that clearly can play at an MVP level, but questions about his health have followed him throughout his professional career. According to Rosenthal’s report, the Twins will try and trade Buxton, who is currently on the IL, if he turns down their current offer. That trade could happen before the deadline or this offseason.

    An extension for Jose Berrios might be out of the question at this point. Berrios made it clear to the Star Tribune that he is looking for a big pay day and his team wans to “see what the best deal is going to be.” Minnesota would likely need to wow him with an offer at this point to get an extension signed.

    Darren Wolfson reported in his most recent podcast that the Twins will need to go higher than $20 million per season to keep Berrios. He has been one of the most durable pitchers during his big-league career as he ranks 10th in innings pitched and 12th in starts since 2017. He’s also 27-years old, which is when many pitchers enter their prime.

    It seems unlikely for the Twins to win a bidding war for Jose Berrios if he and his management team want to go to free agency. This is a player that went through the arbitration hearing process back in 2020 because he was aware of the business side of the game. Now he wants a big pay day so other pitchers of his caliber can make more money in the future.

    Which player to do feel is most likely to be in a Twins uniform beyond 2022? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

    MORE FROM TWINS DAILY
    — Latest Twins coverage from our writers
    — Recent Twins discussion in our forums
    — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

    Cody Christie is a Twins writer and content contributor. His writing can be found exclusively at Twins Daily and his voice can be heard on radio stations throughout the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Twins, he is a father, high school teacher, and avid runner.
    Follow Cody Christie on Twitter: nodaktwinsfan

    MORE FROM TWINS DAILY
    — Latest Twins coverage from our writers
    — Recent Twins discussion in our forums
    — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email
    — Become a Twins Daily Caretaker

     Share
     Share
    Go to articles

    Community Blogs

    • How many games will the Minnesota Twins win in 2023?
    • Gopher Preview (Week 3)

    Forum Topics

    • PVTEST
    • Hey, look here
    • This is an exceptionally long title to test how various points look on a phone and smaller devices
    The Ultimate Fan Guide to Target Field

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Featured Comments

    bean5302

    bean5302 3,310

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    14 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

    You have picked a couple rather extreme anomalies.  You have established a team could payout these amounts.  You can also personally spend more than you make in a given year.  It does not make it a sustainable way to succeed.  

    You also omitted a crucial piece of information.  How did Baltimore and Kansas City do those years with record payrolls?  KC was 80-82 and Baltimore was 75-87 good for last place.  You also failed to mention that the Padres averaged under $72M a year for the last 15 years and spent over $100M twice.  $110M in 2015 and $104M in 2019.  I think they banked enough cash to go wild for a year.  Also, the Padres team is what it is as a result of great drafting and development, including the trades they were able to make as a result of an extremely deep prospect pool.  So, the Padres are much more of an example of what you arguing against than for.

    I guess we could add that KC did not have a true Ace when they won the WS.  We could add that Baltimore  did not have a true ace either during their run.  They had a rotation of 2s and 3s. 

    We could also look at how much other small market teams that DO RATE amongst the lowest team ERA and see how they are doing it.  Tampa Bays top paid SP is $6.5M.  They traded away a Cy Young pitcher and let their top SP in terms of WAR walk in free agency. Oakland's top paid SP is paid $6M.  They do have a RP they are paying $11M but he has not completed an inning this year.  Their top two SPs (WAR) they got by trading away an established player for a prospect.  Their 3rd SP in terms of WAR they got for "cash considerations".   Even the Dodgers with all their revenue ... How did they acquire their 3 top SPs,  They drafted and developed them.

    I guess the point is your evidence of the need to spend  big to get an ace (or win) is full of holes.  You went looking for examples of spending instead of looking for examples of winning.

    I like your field of stuffed strawmen. :) Very rustic!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Major League Ready

    Major League Ready 5,943

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

    I like your field of stuffed strawmen. :) Very rustic!

    How is this a strawman?  .  I am not being coy.  I am wondering what's you point.  Throwing strawman out there is a good way of saying nothing when you don't like the message.  Are you saying the fact these teams did not win is irrelevant.  Did KC or Baltimore have an ace I am not aware of?  Is it or is it not true SanDiego has averaged under $80M for the past 15 years?  Are you saying small market teams can be successful building a rotation via signing elite free agents.  What are you saying?  I would love to see hard evidence (examples) instead of "strawman".  That's a copout.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    Loading...
    ×

×
×
  • Create New...