Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
As the Minnesota Twins enter the full offseason, the front office has multiple big decisions to make. Following a massive fire sale at the trade deadline this past year, Minnesota’s roster looks very different from the one that was expected to contend for the postseason.
The starting rotation is fairly solid, but the bullpen and many other places need help all over. Minnesota still has a few players that they could move for future assets, including star outfielder Byron Buxton.
The Twins fielded trade offers for Buxton at the deadline, but the team decided to hold off moving him. Buxton had said that he wanted to remain in Minnesota, but that he also wanted to win.
Heading into the offseason now, it seems that the discourse around Buxton is changing, and the Twins may be inclined to move him. Buxton remains one of the better outfielders in baseball, so his trade market would likely be robust.
Last season with the Twins, Buxton hit .264 with 35 home runs and 82 runs batted in. The veteran is also solid on the basepaths, having stolen 23 bases this past year.
It remains to be seen if the Twins will indeed make a move to trade Buxton, but there will be interest from around the league. If the team can’t convince him that they are trying to win, the veteran star could always ask out of the organization as well.
This is just a prediction, NOT a report!
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Byron Buxton Traded to San Diego Padres
If Buxton is truly made available on the trade front, there will be no shortage of teams interested in making a move to land him. Buxton has the talent to really change a contending team, and the Twins could net a very strong return for him.
One team that makes a lot of sense for him could be the San Diego Padres. San Diego is coming off a season that saw it fall short in the wild-card round of the playoffs, and this team has to find some way to get over the hump.
The Padres have a lot of talent on the roster, but they just haven’t been able to get things done on the field in years past. This could see the front office look to be aggressive once again, especially on the trade front.
San Diego has taken a step back in terms of spending on the open market in recent years, so a trade would be more up their alley right now. Adding Buxton to this team could massively benefit the clubhouse, and he could easily take on one of the outfield spots.
Buxton has multiple years of control left on his current contract, which is something that the Padres have valued whenever they make trades of late. This could see the team look to give up more in a potential trade as well, further helping the Twins’ case.