The Twins and outfielder Byron Buxton have agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth $100MM. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links) first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal, as well the specific size and length of the contract, while ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reported that an agreement had been reached. The extension contains a full no-trade clause. Buxton is represented by Jet Sports Management.
Rosenthal also has the breakdown of the financial particulars, which carry some notable extra incentives. Buxton will get a $1MM signing bonus and a $9MM salary for 2022, and he’ll then earn $15MM every season from 2023-28. An extra $500K in incentives is available if Buxton reaches various plate appearance thresholds (502, 533, 567, 600 and 625 PA). Some major and “believed to be unprecedented” bonus money is also available to Buxton based on his finishes in MVP voting. Buxton will earn $8MM if he wins MVP honors, $7MM for a second-place finish, $6MM for third, $5MM for fourth, $4MM for fifth, and $3MM if he finishes anywhere from sixth to tenth place in the voting.
The deal secures Buxton’s future as a Twins cornerstone, and ends several months’ worth of negotiations between the two sides. Talks over the summer didn’t pan out, which then led to speculation that Minnesota might deal Buxton at the trade deadline, though that scenario also didn’t come to pass. The Twins reportedly offered Buxton an $80MM deal during the season, and more recent reports indicated that Buxton’s camp wanted extra incentives included in the contract that would push the value over $100MM.
Instead, Buxton now locks in a guaranteed $100MM, though at the cost of six free agent seasons. Buxton (who turns 28 in December) was entering his final year of team control, and was projected to earn $7.3MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility. Though that lens, this deal could be viewed as a six-year, $92.7MM commitment, though the wide range of potential bonus money could greatly increase Buxton’s earnings.
To work his way into the MVP conversation, of course, Buxton will have to stay on the field, which has been his biggest question mark over seven MLB seasons. The outfielder has battled a wide variety of injury problems over the years, with just 493 total games played in seven seasons. Buxton’s season high was 140 appearances in 2017, but his next-highest totals were only 92 games (in 2016) and 87 games (in 2019), plus he appeared in 39 of a possible 60 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
With so many trips to the injured list, it isn’t surprising that it took Buxton a while to get his timing down at the plate, but his batting prowess has started to emerge over the last three years, particularly in 2021. Buxton hit .306/.358/.647 over 254 PA last season, hitting 19 home runs and stealing nine bases in 10 opportunities. Between this offensive production and his all-world defense, Buxton was worth 4.2 fWAR despite playing in only 61 of Minnesota’s games, due to a hip strain and a fracture in his left hand.
Buxton has never finished higher than 16th in AL MVP voting (in 2020). His lack of playing time has undoubtedly cost him with MVP voters and also likely cost him multiple Gold Gloves beyond his lone GG in 2017. As a result, this incentive structure seems like a decent compromise that works for both Buxton and the Twins. The team gets some flexibility in making a major financial commitment to an injury-prone player, while Buxton both guarantees himself one life-changing payday, and allows him to benefit if he is able to stay healthy and consistently produce superstar-level numbers.
Minnesota doesn’t have much long-term payroll on its books, as Randy Dobnak is the only player guaranteed beyond the 2023 season. The guaranteed portion of Josh Donaldson’s deal is up after 2023, so Buxton will essentially replace Donaldson as the Twins’ biggest-money commitment.
Locking up Buxton also seemingly erases the possibility that the Twins were going to take a step back or rebuild entirely following their disastrous 2021 season. While Minnesota did move the likes of Nelson Cruz and Jose Berrios at the trade deadline, they didn’t engage in any kind of a full-on fire sale, preferring to try and rebound in 2022. Buxton’s no-trade clause gives him control over his own fate over the next seven seasons, though if Minnesota did change course and look to make a move with Buxton’s blessing in future years, his contract is short enough on guaranteed money that interested teams would likely still be open to absorbing the deal.
The extension also has an impact on the center field market, as Buxton is no longer a trade possibility and Starling Marte (the best everyday option in free agency) signed with the Mets on Friday. Teams looking for center field help are suddenly facing an even thinner list of possibilities.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Didn’t see this coming
Gonna be a Twin for awhile. Great job Minnesota!
+$14M AAV good Lawd that’s a steal for Minny!
Yes as long as he’s healthy and on the field that is a steal.
Also gives some security for Buxton who clearly has had health issues for his career.
You’re kidding right? This dude is literally made of glass and has zero chance of ever staying healthy. This is the dumbest contract ever barely beating out the contract the Yankees gave Aaron Hicks.
I’ve never seen a human being that was literally made of glass before. People are so effing stupid with the way they misuse that word.
If he stays on the field for sure!
Healthy, he is a top10 player, hopefully he can stay healthy for a few monster years.
@Benjamin; No it isn’t. I’d say it’s a fair risk/reward deal for both sides. This guy can’t stay on the field which is reflected in the contract.
Like you misuse effing? ⚾️
I’m not sure why the Twins prefer this contract over the other one though. $80M guaranteed with $20+M worth of incentives sound better for the Twins than $100M guaranteed with more incentives on top of that. It almost sounds as if they are convinced he will stay healthy and meet the incentives so they would rather kick in the extra $20M guaranteed. $80M sounds safer to me with his injury history.
They prefer this one because Buxton wouldn’t sign the other one.
Neither did I !
Twins fans better hope he got his booster shot. Hopefully they slipped in some durability into the vaccine. The full no trade is what’s awful.
Didn’t think the Twins would actually pull the trigger on this one. I think, despite his injury history, this is a good move for the Twins.
Will this mean he’ll still be traded?
They ended up hanging on to Joe Mauer
No trade clause
Very curious to hear the details
Good for the Twins.
I hope he remains healthy. I really want to see what he can do for an extended period.
If this deal resembles the numbers that were reported a month ago, the Twins made a very strong move here.
Talent is there however so are the injuries. Think the twinkies will regret the extension. Can’t see him staying on the field.
Agreed. Dude just can’t seem to stay healthy despite all the talent.
Dude is overrated imo. Injury prone as well. I’m not a twins fan but I truly feel they will regret this contract. They should trade Donaldson in the meantime to offset some of Buxtons new deal
ever watch him play? take a look at the team record when he plays and when he doesn’t. easily searchable….just in the last two years, they are 76-33 when he plays. THAT is why they extended him. THAT is why your overrated statement is preposterous.
If healthy, top ten players in baseball.
One of the best players in the game when healthy. Fun watching him play.
Nice move. If he can stay healthy, this becomes one of the most tradeable contracts in baseball, affordable for literally any team. If not, not that bad for future payrolls. These sorts of long but moderate AAV deals should be more common.
Not tradeable. He has a NTC.
NTC does not mean “not tradeable.” See Max Scherzer last season.
Not the same and you know it.
Lots of players waive NTCs for competitive teams
As a division foe fan, I was hoping he would get moved. Particularly as it would open up the chance for the Tigers to sign him next off-season.
I’m guessing it is quite incentive-laden. I cannot imagine they would up their offer by 20-40M (says, now, OVER $100M) without conditions attached. Maybe vesting options based on games played? Bonuses in the meantime, as well?
I definitely see an escalating contract for him based around staying on the field. I doubt the Twins just straight up guaranteed him $100M+.
They should definitely give him a low AVV and high incentives based on games played and performance. If he plays a lot of games he gets paid, if he plays well he gets paid even more, if he gets injured as usual then you don’t get paid a high salary.
I love this page! I always find out about every single move before my friends do.
I hope he stays healthy if not could go down as a bad contract like Aaron Hicks.
You’re right. They both have a resemblance though I feel like Buxton has more upside. I don’t wtf the Yankees were thinking when they gave Hicks a 7 yr contract when that was his first full season and he barely hit .250. Buxton has shown he could be a 5 tool player when healthy. But like you said, let’s hope he stays healthy otherwise this contract will go down as a bad move just like the Yankees with Aaron Hicks.
It’s not that hard to figure out. For some reason, there is a shortage of quality CFers in the game now. There’s Mike Trout, who is in another stratosphere (but even he should be moved to a corner), then you get the random out-of-nowhere season from guys like Mullins, and then there’s a bunch of talented guys who can’t stay healthy (Buxton fits that as does Hicks) and then more players you wonder if they can stay in CF much longer (Springer for one), and then some good-field, low-hit kind of players like Kiermaier, Taylor, etc. Robert looks like a good one. Reynolds in Pittsburgh was good, although really is miscast in CF. There’s about 10 guys you can have confidence in, and 20 more who bring a variety of question marks as CFers, either with their bats, gloves, or durability, or questions about if they can stick, or if maybe they’re one-hit wonders.
Hicks put up OPS+’s of 122, 127, 103 and 122 over four seasons from 2017-2020. In 2017, he was the 5th most valuable CFer in the AL despite only playing in 88 games. In 2018, he was the second most valuable CFer in the AL only behind Mike Trout. That’s why the Yankees signed him to that contract. Good CFers are hard to find in today’s game, Hicks was good, and he’s only costing them $10M a year. A drop in the bucket for a team like the Yankees and a starting CFer…assuming he can stay healthy! That’s his issue.
Now, I think the Yankees should still target a new CFer, although it won’t be easy as there’s not as many good ones out there as you might think, and the ones who are good and young aren’t available. Hence, once again, why they signed Hicks. They were wise not to sign a 33-year-old CFer in Marte who is already showing some signs of defensive slippage (still good though) to come in and play CF at $20M a year. If they can find a CFer, I’d move Hicks into the Gardner 4th OFer role. It’s a high-rotation spot, meaning he’s still going to get 400 PAs over the course of the season. Either way, if you’re a Yankee fan, pray Hicks is healthy. The options either for a starting CFer, or as a Gardner replacement, aren’t pleasant.
I think the problem is that a lot of center fielders (not all) are mostly defensive players. A lot of them have struggled to have consistent offensive production.
Rob: Yeah, I agree with you. In fact, seeing Buxton sign this extension reminded me of Hicks right away due to their similarities.
We do need a CFer. Buxton/Marte are gone, and Ketel is not a CFer. They should let the prospects battle it out for the spot and commit the spot to the performer.
Rob, what makes you call Reynolds miscast in CF? I haven’t watched him play, but he was a GG finalist, no?
In regards to the update, he did get an incentive ladden deal. He will get a good base salary but if he performs well (top 5 MVP votes) he’ll make more money. I think it was a fair deal on both ends.
Clipper, I fear that Florial will never develop enough of a bat tool to be a starter. Reynolds is the best (and maybe only) solution, but I’m sure they’ll demand the Martian. And that would hurt too much. How ironic if Gardy turned out to be the most feasible option!
Could become a steal if he stays healthy. Dude found his stride the last few years
The Twins will lose to the Phillies in five games in 2084. Neither team will reach the World Series before then.
Good deal for team and player.
How?! He’s played in less than 500 games in 7 years! How do you invest +100mm in someone that is never healthy!
I guess in theory its better to invest in him and hope he gets healthy rather then him be healthy and someone else invest in him?
@its probably because he’s a 300 million dollar player if he was fully healthy. The risk was built into that contract.
Win-win deal!
Commensurate for what he provides. Will be a very fair contract for the Twins If he averages 3 WAR for that 7 years.
I think as we all know the success of the deal will hinge on how much he plays. We know he has the talent, he’s just gotta stay on the field.
“buxton will receive 1 million dollars per game played over the next 7 years, a new baseball record”
I couldn’t help but laugh and also think “Dusty might be on to something here”
Look at all the people here that actually think this is good for the Twins. Am I missing something we are talking about Byron Buxton right?
He just put up 4+ WAR in less than half a season, that’s why
This guy has played over 92 games once so for the fans who think this is a good deal for the Twins I would like to know what you’re smoking and if you’ll share? He’s softer than a home baked cookie and it’s a guarantee that he’ll miss significant time it’s just a matter of how much. Maybe the Twins can build some kind of Pope bubble for him for when he’s in the field or running the bases.
From the perspective of an outside observer, $15M/yr is a great deal for a dynamic center fielder who plays approx half the time. Its gotta be frustrating being a fan of his. Anytime he plays 120+ games/season its great for the Twins and great for the fans.
Buxton missing significant time is far from a guarantee. He’s an incredible physical specimen in the prime of his life. His injuries have been freak and unrelated, not chronic. He has as good a chance to stay healthy moving forward as anybody. Stand next to him in the flesh and see if you still have the audacity to call him soft. Just a friendly reminder that he could beat the crap out of both of us.
He goes all out, runs, throws, and swings hard. He like most will have knee (Looks heavy, dense), Hammie, ankle, shoulder, and elbow problems. It’s a sport played by grown men running as hard as they can, there will be injuries and that’s all before even trying to round the bases.
I think this is a great deal. Love the incentives.
When Buxton is healthy he is one of the best players in the league. Hopefully for the Twins this doesn’t turn into an Aaron Hicks type of a situation
Solid contract all around. When healthy he plays like a $20 million or more a year guy. But he’s rarely healthy all year.
So they settled at $14 million per year.
This is a very sensible deal for Bux and the Twins. Once he’s out there, he’s one of the best players in the league. He needs to find a way to stay healthy. Probably best to have him DH 25% of the time or shift him over to a corner OF spot on occasion.
678 plate appearances since 2017
He’s worth the contract even if he only plays half a season, although that’s still a liability to the team as they need to play below-replacement-level players for all the time he’s out.
Nevertheless, could still pay off for them big time. He’s likely still tradeable even with this contract as it’s only about 14M AAV and his talent level is high. An understandable gamble on both sides.
Meanwhile, Ronald Acuna sees $100M to Buxton, who barely plays, over 7 years, and is reminded he’s being paid the same $100M over a decade for a $12.4M AAV and his anger grows.
Ronald Acuna had only played one season when he signed that extension. He wouldn’t have been a free agent for five more years. You clearly do not understand this.
No need to be defensive, @48-team MLB. I understand it quite well, and I understand why the Braves deal with Acuna was criticized.
Also, it was an eight-year deal with two option years. That could potentially make the deal worth $124 million if I’m not mistaken so it’s a little more money potentially than people think.
Acura wanted the security and is set for life.. he knew risks of losing money long term over the security of signing at early stage .. no reason to get angry.. both parties took the risk
It’s also very likely that Acuna gets another solid contract after this one.
Fantastic contract for the Twins.. This is the man I wanted to centre CF for the Blue Jays through trade instead of Springer. Great contract imo for the Twins!!
Over or under 500 games played during that span
Under.
@manfraud … way under with two bullets
Seven years, $100 million AND a no trade clause?? Good for buxton. He has a hell of an agent.
Good deal for both.. Buxton doesn’t stay healthy that much so gives him security for life.. Twins couldn’t afford him if he did stay healthy so they meet in the middle to suit both their needs.. both should be happy with this deal.. risks on both sides but risks both willing to accept
For one of the most extreme upside/injury risk guys in the game this is pretty fair all around.
He will be a phillie in a few days
You must be Rob Ramsey in disguise.
Great annual value, in theory. But his track record of health is not great. Hopefully this ages well
I like deals that give performance bonuses. It gives the player something to strive for.
He has had a hard time staying healthy and has a career .248 AVG/ .299 OBP. I’m not trying to be too disrespectful, but besides last seasons small sample what has he done to deserve 7 years $100 M??
For Buxton, that will likely pan out to $1mm per game.
Jet Sports management having a banner offseason so far.
Injured List
Twins taking risk here. But if he stays healthy is a steal.
It doesn’t matter honestly. They’ve lost 18 consecutive postseason games. Buxton won’t make a difference there….and they can occasionally make the playoffs (and lose) without him. He was re-signed for jersey sales.
My strong suspicion is that Jim Pohlad stepped in and made it clear to Derek Falvey that he didn’t want the backlash that would come with a rebuild.
Which raises the bigger question of WHY would the Twins trade Jose Berrios, knowing that to replace his production, experience and durability the Twins would be paying far more than the Blue Jays eventually paid to extend him?
Buxton reportedly tore a tendon in his wrist while signing the contract. Further details to come…..
One year out of seven with over 100 games played? That extension should be called a theft!!
Okay got him back, now let’s go get some pitching!!
Man I was really hoping they would trade him. Matched up well with the Phillies I thought. Figured Hoskins and Kingery would’ve at least got the conversation started
He doesn’t play enough games this is dumb
I don’t like this deal for the Twins. Buxton is just way too injured. I don’t think he’s been healthy for a single year and the Twins signed him for 7.
On top of that, he’s really only been good offensively for 2 to 3 years.
At first glance this deal looks pretty bad for the Twins, but maybe they can manage his workload and be realistic that he’s not meant to play a full season.
This contract is an unmitigated disaster. This guy couldn’t stay healthy in his prime, so why should he be depended on for the twilight of his career? He’s going to be 35 when this deal is up. He will spend at least 80 games a season on the DL — and that’s being conservative.
Awful signing for someone who couldn’t be any less deserving.
The Twins won’t have to worry about paying the PA incentives … he’ll never come close to those
He will be fine. Good deal for both sides! Buxton is an MVP type of player when on the field.
Great deal. People generally undervalue Gold Glove caliber defense. And most of the injuries were fluke.
Let’s stop worrying about MLB ballplayers being taken advantage of shall we? People should be able to make whatever the market will bear. However, many posters are continuously complaining about billionaire owners. Let the market decide. Sounds like players who are established are doing just fine.
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on trading for Byron Buxton right up until he signed the deal to stay with the Twins.. The Marlins made a “strong” trade offer, but not one that could persuade the Twins to part with the center fielder. The Marlins could have matched the terms of the Twins ’ financial commitment should their trade efforts been successful. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be interested.
That’s a great signing for the Twins! Now he just needs to stay on the field!
Good for Minny. I was hoping the RS could pry him loose. A lot of injuries, but about the best player in baseball when he does play.
That’s a lot of money for something made of fragile glass.
Love this deal for twins. At this price it’s well worth betting on him staying healthy.
Fun fact. He only has 401 career hits.
I’m happy. He’d be getting double this if he were healthy all the time. He has a 137 OPS+ in his last 684 PA’s. That’s a great sign because he used to have to fix his mechanics etc every single year and then would still hit bad. That’s no longer the case.
He just needs to be healthier, which is a huge ask. His biggest injury this past season was from getting hit by a pitch. No player can do anything about that. He used to get injured doing not smart things like running into walls on balls he had no chance at catching. That has nearly gone away completely.
Even if he doesn’t get healthier, he’s worth this. They handed out something like 22 million last year to Shoemaker, Happ and Simmons. The only thing provided by any of them was one good month from Happ and good defense from Simmons. A team should be able to get way more than that from 22 million. When Buxton plays, he gives them more value than that, even in 60 games.