Byron Buxton has been through a lot in a Minnesota Twins uniform. He has battled injuries, endured three different roster teardowns, and watched the team move on from its cornerstone players. Now, as he approaches his age-32 season, he’s drawing a line in the sand: he doesn’t want to be part of another rebuild.

“I Ain’t Treading Water”
Speaking with the Pioneer Press, Buxton didn’t mince words about his expectations for the organization.

“I ain’t treading water,” Buxton said. “I won’t do that. It’s all about winning for me. I ain’t a person who’s going to be walking on my toes or anything like that to satisfy anybody. I want to win.”

That kind of honesty isn’t surprising for a player who’s never been shy about how much he wants to bring a championship to Minnesota. But his comments also highlight an important reality: the Twins can’t afford to go back into a long-term reset mode with their best player locked in through 2028.

Buxton Isn’t Going Anywhere
When Buxton signed his seven-year, $100-million extension ahead of the 2022 season, the deal came with a no-trade clause. That means the Twins can’t simply move him if the front office decides a reset is the best course of action. He’s made it clear he wants to be a Twin for life, and he’s dug in.

This message puts even more pressure on Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll. If Buxton’s voice matters in the clubhouse (and it does), then pivoting to another rebuild risks creating a divide between leadership and the roster.

Pointing Fingers, But Owning Responsibility
Interestingly, Buxton didn’t just aim his frustration at the front office. He also held the players accountable.

“We didn’t win very many games last month,” he admitted. “How many was it? Six, seven? Eleven? It’s not enough. We had a chance to control our destiny last year, and as a team, we just didn’t play well enough.”

That combination of calling out the front office for not adding talent while also acknowledging the players’ own failures underscores Buxton’s leadership. The Twins’ pitching staff didn’t live up to preseason expectations, and the offense has struggled since the team collapsed in the second half of 2024. He isn’t pointing fingers without looking in the mirror.

The Sonny Gray Ripple Effect
Buxton also addressed the recent comments from Joe Ryan, who said letting Sonny Gray walk in free agency was the “biggest mistake” the current front office has made.

“I don’t know if it’s the biggest mistake, but I do know that I’ve been here for long enough, so I’ve seen a lot of things,” Buxton said. “If this is what you call a rebuild, this will be my third one since I’ve been here. So, if you want to talk about mistakes, I saw a lot of mistakes leading up to now.”

It’s not hard to connect the dots. The Twins went from a playoff team in 2023 to a franchise in turmoil in 2025, and the lack of offseason additions since Gray’s departure has been glaring. The front office’s lack of moves is tied directly to the ownership’s directive to cut payroll by $30 million. However, the team had the pieces to compete in the AL Central over the last two seasons, and it has played out horribly. 

A Winter of Reckoning
Buxton’s words should reverberate through the front office. The Twins can’t afford another quiet winter. Fans won’t tolerate it, and neither will their franchise cornerstone.

“That’s what it’s going to take,” Buxton said, referring to trades and free-agent additions. “Not many teams in baseball don’t do something in the offseason anymore. Every team does something.”

For an organization that traded away 11 players at this year’s deadline, there’s no shortage of holes to fill. If the Twins want to avoid losing their star’s trust—not to mention further alienating their fanbase—they’ll need to prove they’re serious about competing in 2026.

Buxton’s message does create an odd and (perhaps) unsustainable dissonance, though. He’s stated his intention to stay with the team, but he sounds just as unflinching about his commitment to winning every year as he is to being part of the Twins. There’s no evidence at all that the team actually intends to go make the kinds of moves his remarks seem to demand. It’s hard not to wonder whether, if the short-term direction becomes clear and it doesn’t put the team on a path to the playoffs, Buxton would reconsider his stance and ask for a trade, after all.

The next few months will define the direction of this organization. If Falvey and Zoll don’t take action, the Twins won’t just be treading water: they might be sinking.

Do you agree with Buxton’s message? Leave a comment and start the discussion.