Byron Buxton

AL Central Notes: Twins, Kwan, Olson

By Nick Deeds | September 14, 2024 at 9:34pm CDT

The Twins recently welcomed a pair of key players back from the injured list, returning both center fielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa to the starting lineup. Buxton was activated in advance of yesterday’s game after missing the past month with a hip injury, while Correa has been out for the past two months due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The duo’s return to action is surely a relief for Twins fans. After all, only Matt Wallner’s 162 wRC+ surpasses Correa’s 152 and Buxton’s 142 figures among the club’s regulars, and the two stars also play key defensive roles at shortstop and center field respectively.

As important as both Correa and Buxton are to the Twins’ pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot and impending postseason push, however, they won’t be in the lineup every day down the stretch. As noted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters earlier today that both players will be in the lineup on a truly game-to-game basis, with the team’s medical staff evaluating them both after each game to determine whether or not they’ll be available to play in the club’s next game.

That aggressive management of the club’s two top players might seem counter-intuitive for a Twins club that’s clinging to a 2.5-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot, but it’s fairly understandable given the pair’s significant injury woes. After all, Buxton’s injury woes throughout his career have been extreme enough that the next game he takes the field for will mean he’s played more games in 2024 with 93 than he has in any season of his 10-year big league career except 2017. While Correa’s injury woes haven’t been quite that extreme, the shortstop has been limited to just 75 games this year by injury and is now attempting to play through plantar fasciitis for the second consecutive September. For a Twins club that hasn’t made it to the ALCS since 2002, keeping Correa and Buxton as healthy as possible for the playoffs is clearly a top priority.

For his part, Correa seems to be on board. The shortstop told reporters (as relayed by Gleeman) that “Realistically, [he’s] not going to play every game” before adding that he wants to be on the field for the Twins “as much as possible” going forward this season. When Correa and Buxton are unable to play, Brooks Lee appears to be the club’s primary backup at shortstop while Willi Castro is the top option in center field.

More from around the AL Central…

The Guardians are dealing with an injury scare regarding one of their top hitters, as club manager Stephen Vogt told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com) that outfielder Steven Kwan has been out of the lineup in recent days due to what he described as “back soreness.” While that diagnosis may seem fairly benign, it’s at least somewhat concerning that Vogt added Kwan has been sent for testing to determine the severity of the issue. While it’s nearly impossible for the Guardians to miss the playoffs at this point, the club holds a fairly tenuous three-game lead over the Royals for the AL Central crown, which is likely to come with a bye through the first round of the playoffs. The loss of Kwan, who has excelled as the club’s leadoff hitter with a .291/.364/.419 slash line this year, would surely complicate the club’s hopes of holding onto its present playoff positioning and an lengthy absence could even jeopardize Kwan’s availability in the early rounds of the playoffs. Will Brennan, Angel Martinez, and Daniel Schneemann are among the club’s options in left field while Kwan is unavailable.
The Tigers have been without Reese Olson for virtually the entire second half this year after the right-hander went on the IL back in July due to a shoulder strain. Fortunately, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) this afternoon that the club hopes to activate Olson from the IL during the club’s upcoming series against the Royals early next week. A healthy and effective return from Olson would be a huge boost for a Detroit club that sits just 2.5 games back of Minnesota for the final AL Wild Card spot, as the 25-year-old righty was in the midst of a breakout season with a 3.23 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 19 starts before being sidelined.

Twins Activate Byron Buxton

By Steve Adams | September 12, 2024 at 12:29pm CDT

The Twins announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated Byron Buxton from the injured list and optioned infielder/outfielder Austin Martin to Triple-A St. Paul. Buxton wound up missing exactly one month with a hip injury.

Trips to the IL are nothing new for Buxton — one of the most talented but also most frequently injured players in the sport. He was on a heater for the ages at the time he landed on the shelf, batting .331/.394/.709 (205 wRC+) with 13 homers, 15 doubles and a triple in 165 trips to the plate over his prior two months of action.

Buxton went on a minor league rehab assignment last week but had that stint shut down just prior to his expected return, when he experienced continued pain in his hip. He played in Triple-A games on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4 but hasn’t taken another minor league rep since. The Twins will hope he can round back into form on the fly, rejoining the big league roster amid a pivotal late stretch that’ll see them try to fend off the Red Sox, Mariners and sizzling Tigers. Minnesota holds a three-game lead over Detroit for the final AL Wild Card spot and four-game leads over Boston and Seattle. They’re a game and a half behind Kansas City for the second Wild Card position and six back of the Guardians in the AL Central.

Manager Rocco Baldelli acknowledged that at a different point of the season, perhaps the team might’ve taken more time, writes Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic. However, that’s not a luxury the club necessarily feels it can afford on the heels of a recent slump while Buxton, Carlos Correa, Max Kepler, Joe Ryan and Chris Paddack have all been out with injuries simultaneously. “There’s going to be urgency all the way through this,” Baldelli said. “We have to win.” Gleeman notes that Correa, who’s been taking live BP at Target Field this week, might not be far behind Buxton. He’s been out since July with plantar fasciitis in his foot but was in the midst of his best season as a Twin, hitting .308/.377/.520 with 13 homers in 317 plate appearances.

It’s also been a strong season all around for the 30-year-old Buxton, who’s hitting .275/.334/.528 in 90 games and 335 plate appearances. He’s scaled back his running on the bases in recent years in an effort to stay on the field more, but Buxton is still 6-for-8 in stolen base attempts in 2024. His center field defense remains a clear plus, though he’s likely no longer the game’s premier defensive player at his position.

The Twins are still strong favorites to reach the playoffs, but losing one-third of their starting line — including two of their three most talented hitters — and multiple starting pitchers has left them relying heavily on inexperienced talent down the stretch. That’s particularly true in the rotation, where rookies Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews have all asked to take on significant roles.

Minnesota certainly isn’t likely to take the division at this point, though the Twins do have one final four-game set with the Guardians remaining on the schedule. They’d need to execute a sweep on the road to make things truly interesting, but that series next week will merit close monitoring regardless, as it’ll have clear ramifications in an AL Central where Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota are all currently in line to reach the playoffs and where Detroit isn’t far behind. For now, the Twins host a sub-.500 Reds club for three games this weekend before traveling to Cleveland for those four games and then to Boston for a three-game set. They’ll wrap up the season with six-game homestand: three versus Miami and finally three versus Baltimore.

AL Notes: Buxton, Correa, Lorenzen, Cortes

By Mark Polishuk | September 8, 2024 at 11:23pm CDT

Byron Buxton was feeling discomfort in his hip as recently as Wednesday, and Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that this setback scuttled the Twins’ plans for Buxton to begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. Right hip inflammation has kept Buxton on the injured list since the middle of August, depriving the Twins lineup of a big bat with 16 homers and a .275/.334/.528 slash line over 335 plate appearances. While Minnesota has dealt with a number of injuries this season, losing Buxton seems to have been a particular blow to the roster, as the Twins are only 6-14 over their last 20 games.

Reinforcements are needed, yet there’s no word on when either Buxton or Carlos Correa might be able to start a rehab assignment, as manager Rocco Baldelli told Helfand and other reporters today. Correa hasn’t played since July 12 due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and the shortstop has been feeling good while taking part in running drills. This is “some level of significant, but we still have a ways to go,” Baldelli said. “We’ll see if we can build on that and keep moving in a positive direction.”

Some other items from around the American League….

While Minnesota is struggling, the Royals rebounded from a seven-game losing streak with a three-game sweep of the Twins this weekend. Kansas City is also getting healthier, as manager Matt Quartaro told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that Michael Lorenzen is slated to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday. Lorezen was placed on the 15-day IL on August 28 due to a left hamstring strain, so the right-hander looks like he shouldn’t miss much time beyond the 15-day minimum. Acquired from the Rangers in a deadline trade, Lorenzen had great results in his first five starts as a Royal, delivering a 1.85 ERA in 24 1/3 innings.
The returns of Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt gave the Yankees a rotation surplus, relegating Nestor Cortes to a relief role as a piggyback pitcher behind Schmidt on Saturday. “I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry. You’re always going to get my best effort, no matter if I’m happy or not,” Cortes told ESPN and other media, yet the left-hander also made it clear that he was “upset” over the role change. “I felt like I’ve been, amongst all the starters, the workhorse here,” Cortes said. “Once [Gerrit] Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to switch my routine there. Now they do this.” After an injury-plagued 2023 season, Cortes has a 3.97 ERA over 163 1/3 innings this year, with an unimpressive set of Statcast metrics except for an excellent walk rate. Cortes will return to starting duty when the Yankees adopt a six-man staff for the next turn through the rotation, yet it remains to be seen how New York deploys Cortes, Cole, Gil, Schmidt, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs.

AL Notes: Verlander, Garcia, Buxton, Paddack, Rangers, Skubal

By Mark Polishuk | August 18, 2024 at 10:34pm CDT

Justin Verlander “felt strong” during a bullpen session today in Houston, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle), which should line Verlander up to return to the rotation on Wednesday when the Astros face the Red Sox. A neck strain has kept Verlander from pitching in the majors since June 9, and he has amassed only 57 innings this season due both this current ailment and a bout of shoulder inflammation coming out of Spring Training. However, Verlander has completed two minor league rehab outings and today’s bullpen session looks like the final checkpoint on his path to recovery.

While things are looking promising for Verlander, Luis Garcia is more of a question mark. The Athletic’s Chandler Rome wrote (via X) that as of Friday, Garcia hadn’t yet resumed throwing since he was shut down due to soreness over two weeks ago. This is the second time Garcia has hit a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and since Garcia went under the knife in May 2023, a normal rehab timeline would’ve had him ready to return to the majors by this point over 15 months past his procedure date. Though the Astros have said Garcia might return as a reliever rather than as a starter, he is running short on time to fully ramp up his readiness to rejoin Houston’s pitching staff in any capacity.

Twins Place Byron Buxton On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | August 15, 2024 at 5:55pm CDT

5:55pm: The Twins have now made it official, placing Buxton on the IL with right hip inflammation, retroactive to August 13. Julien was recalled as the corresponding move. They also optioned right-hander Louie Varland and recalled righty Ronny Henriquez.

4:20pm: Twins outfielder Byron Buxton has been dealing with a hip injury in recent days. Per Dan Hayes of The Athletic on X, there’s no structural damage but the club is going to place him on the 10-day injured list anyway. Hayes adds that infielder Edouard Julien is on his way to join the team, presumably as the corresponding move.

Buxton hasn’t played for Minnesota since Monday. He departed that game with right hip discomfort. He was sent for an MRI but it came back clean, per Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic on X. However, he has been kept out of the lineup due to ongoing discomfort and the club has been considering an IL stint just to avoid playing a man short, which will seemingly come to pass today.

It’s a fairly logical decision to make. The club is in a tight playoff race, currently holding the second Wild Card spot in the American League but with the Royals, Red Sox and Mariners all fairly close behind. Since Buxton has already missed a few days, his IL placement can be backdated, meaning he could theoretically be back by next weekend if he heals up between now and then. Rather than play shorthanded for a few days, the club can get reinforcements while giving Buxton a breather.

Buxton’s health has been an ongoing issue throughout his career, so it makes sense to play things on the cautious side. Although this is his tenth major league season, he has only once played more than 92 games in any individual campaign due to various maladies. Last year, the club limited him to designated hitter duties exclusively, but he still only got into 85 contests.

The knee issues that plagued him last year seem to be less of an issue this season. He did miss a couple of weeks in May with right knee inflammation but has otherwise been in the lineup. He has appeared in 90 games so far this year, taking his customary center field position in 82 of those. He’s also been incredibly impactful, as he’s hit 16 home runs and is slashing .275/.334/.528 for a 140 wRC+. He’s also swiped six bags and has received strong grades for his glovework, leading FanGraphs to credit him with 3.2 wins above replacement on the year.

Losing that production for a while will obviously be less than ideal for the Twins in the short term, but it will be worth it in the long term if Buxton can heal up and be back in form for the playoff race and the postseason itself.

Until then, the club will likely be using Manuel Margot and Austin Martin to cover center, with Max Kepler, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner also in the outfield/designated hitter mix. Martin has also been playing some second base this year, so Julien will give them an extra option there while Martin spends more time on the grass. Kyle Farmer is also on hand as a glove-first option at the keystone, compared to Julien’s more bat-first profile. With Carlos Correa and Brooks Lee also on the IL, Willi Castro is covering shortstop every day as Royce Lewis and José Miranda share third base and DH duties.

Justin Topa Shut Down For Six Weeks With Patellar Tendon Tear

By Anthony Franco | May 14, 2024 at 9:39pm CDT

Twins reliever Justin Topa has been diagnosed with a partial tear in the patellar tendon in his left knee. Trainer Nick Paparesta told the club’s beat that the right-hander received a platelet-rich plasma injection and won’t begin throwing for at least six weeks (X link via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Topa indicated he declined to undergo surgery in hopes of returning at some point in 2024.

Minnesota acquired the 33-year-old righty as one of four players in the deal sending Jorge Polanco to Seattle. Topa and Anthony DeSclafani were expected to deepen the major league pitching staff, but neither will make an impact for at least a good portion of the season. (Minnesota also landed prospects Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen in the trade.) DeSclafani is down for the year after undergoing flexor tendon surgery in late March. He’ll be a free agent next winter and might never pitch as a Twin.

Topa should still contribute this season, but it’s not likely to be before the All-Star Break. He entered camp as a potential high-leverage setup arm in front of Jhoan Duran. Topa is coming off a breakout season in Seattle in which he threw 69 innings of 2.61 ERA ball. While his 21.9% strikeout rate was pedestrian, his mid-90s sinker helped him keep the ball on the ground nearly 57% of the time opponents made contact.

Unfortunately, Topa has a lengthy injury history that likely contributed to the Mariners’ willingness to package him in the Polanco trade. He has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in addition to a flexor tendon repair. A knee issue isn’t as concerning as the multiple elbow procedures, but he’s in for another lengthy absence.

Topa is making $1.25MM this season and is under arbitration control through 2026. Minnesota will move him to the 60-day injured list whenever the need for a 40-man roster spot arises.

In more positive news, Minnesota announced tonight that Byron Buxton will start a rehab assignment at Triple-A St. Paul (link via Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune). He’ll play a pair of games with the Saints and could rejoin the Twins for their divisional series against the Guardians on Friday. Buxton has been out since May 3 with right knee inflammation. Assuming the rehab stint goes as planned, he’ll only miss a few days more than the minimal stay.

Twins Place Byron Buxton On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | May 3, 2024 at 4:35pm CDT

The Twins announced that they have placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list due to right knee inflammation with infielder/outfielder Austin Martin recalled in a corresponding move. Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press was among those to relay the news on X prior to the official announcement.

Buxton departed Wednesday’s game after coming up limping on an attempted steal of second base. After that contest, the club announced that he was dealing with right knee soreness and was going for an MRI. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey says the MRI showed no structural damage, per Helfand on X, and they are hopeful Buxton can return after just 10 days.

While the club is downplaying the severity, there will be some skepticism among fans of the club, given the ongoing health problems of Buxton. Though he’s one of the game’s top talents, staying on the field has been a perpetual challenge. Though he debuted back in 2015, he has only once played more than 92 games in a season, which was back in 2017.

He got into 85 games last year but issues with that right knee prevented him from taking the field, as he stayed in a designated hitter role all year. He ultimately underwent arthroscopic surgery on that knee in October but he felt well enough by January to declare that he would be returning to center field in 2024.

He has played 28 games so far this year, starting in center field for 20 of those, but the offense hasn’t quite been back to his peak levels. He’s hit .250/.300/.391 so far this season for a wRC+ of 99. That’s similar to his showing last year while battling the knee issues, as he hit .207/.294/.438 in 2023 for a wRC+ of 98.

From 2019 to 2022, Buxton hit .258/.316/.558 for a 135 wRC+ while stealing 31 bases and providing excellent center field defense. He spent significant time on the IL during that period but showed what an impact player he can be when everything is clicking right.

The fact that he was healthy enough to take the field this year was an encouraging sign that maybe he could return to that level, but that he’s now dealing with knee problems again is understandably worrying.

Ideally, Buxton will be back in short order and can make some progress in his performance. But until then, the club will be using other options in center field. Willi Castro is in there tonight but they also have Manuel Margot and Martin to help cover that spot.

Twins Notes: Kirilloff, Santana, Buxton

By Anthony Franco | March 5, 2024 at 11:27pm CDT

Not long after the Jorge Polanco trade cleared room in the Twins’ budget, the front office added Carlos Santana on a $5.25MM free agent pact. The veteran offers an alternative at first base to Alex Kirilloff, who started 58 games there a year ago.

Minnesota has stopped short of declaring either player the starting first baseman. However, Aaron Gleeman of the Athletic opined on Monday that Santana is likely to get the bulk of the reps on the strength of his defensive reputation. Manager Rocco Baldelli indeed suggested Tuesday that defense would be a separator in divvying up playing time.

“Whoever’s the better defensive first baseman is going to play more at first base. I don’t know any other way to put that,” Baldelli said (link via Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune). “There will be a determination when the time comes, when we put our lineups together. Both are going to play a good amount of first base, but the guy who is doing the best job for us on that side of the ball is the one who’s going to play more.”

Santana should have the edge in that regard. The 14-year big league veteran consistently rates as a quality gloveman. Defensive Runs Saved graded him 11 runs above average in more than 1150 innings a year ago. Statcast rated him as more of a solid than excellent defender, estimating he was two runs above par. Kirilloff, by contrast, rated between five and eight runs below average in only 510 first base innings by those metrics.

That’s not to say that Kirilloff’s path to a regular spot in the lineup is blocked. The left-handed hitter has more offensive upside than Santana brings to the table at this stage of his career. Kirilloff is coming off a .270/.348/.445 slash with 11 homers in 88 games. He hasn’t produced much against lefty pitching but owns a .274/.328/.440 batting line in 549 career plate appearances versus right-handers.

Kirilloff should see a good bit of action at designated hitter even if Santana operates as the primary first baseman. Minnesota also isn’t completely closing the book on Kirilloff as an outfielder. The 26-year-old tells Miller that he has continued taking outfield drills and expects to soon log game action on the grass. Kirilloff came through the minors as a corner outfielder. He hasn’t seen a ton of MLB action out there, logging 64 starts over parts of three seasons. Baldelli penciled him into the starting outfield on just 12 occasions last year.

The increased action at first base reflects both Minnesota’s outfield depth and the questions that evaluators have raised about Kirilloff’s athleticism. He’s certainly an inferior defender to Max Kepler in right field. Projected left fielder Matt Wallner has below-average range, although he has as strong an arm as any outfielder in the game.

Byron Buxton has the ability to help cover for a mediocre defender in left field, assuming he stays healthy. He’s among the sport’s best center fielders at full strength, but right knee issues kept him from logging any defensive work in 2023. The Star-Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale spoke with Buxton and hitting coach David Popkins about the difficulty in even remaining in a DH role with the amount of pain through which he had to play last season.

Buxton spoke about the mental challenge of playing through the injury, which he said frequently tightened up between at-bats and made it difficult to decelerate as a baserunner. The Twins are optimistic that he’ll be able to play center field fairly regularly in 2024, although Buxton’s injury history makes it difficult to bank on him starting 100+ games. Minnesota brought in Manuel Margot to serve as a quality fourth outfielder who can spell Buxton in center field and offers a right-handed complement to Kepler, Wallner and Kirilloff in the corners.

Byron Buxton Planning To Return To Center Field In 2024

By Nick Deeds | January 27, 2024 at 9:16pm CDT

As noted by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Twins center fielder Byron Buxton assured fans at this weekend’s TwinsFest that the club’s star defender would be back in center field for the 2024 campaign.

Buxton, 30, was limited to DH-only duties during the 2023 campaign as he battled knee issues before ultimately undergoing knee surgery in October. The nagging injury woes, in addition to stopping Buxton from playing defense last year, may have contributed to his diminished results at the plate last season. In 347 trips to the plate, Buxton slashed a modest .207/.294/.438 that was roughly league average by measure of wRC+. That’s a far cry from the .258/.316/.558 slash line he compiled from 2019 to 2022. The offensive potential Buxton showed during that four-year stretch, when combined with his elite defensive abilities and quality baserunning, made the outfielder one of the league’s most valuable players on a rate basis.

Buxton’s potential has been limited, however, by constant struggles with injuries over the years. Across nine seasons as a big leaguer, Buxton has only appeared in 100 games once, during his 140-game 2017 campaign. Since then, he has averaged just 65 games a season while never appearing in more than 92 in a single campaign. Given his long-standing struggles with staying on the field, the club hoped that by making Buxton their full-time DH in 2022 they would be able to keep him on the field more frequently. That, of course, didn’t pan out, and returning their star center fielder to his natural position has long been acknowledged as the ideal scenario for the club in 2024.

Earlier this offseason, reports indicated that Buxton was fully healed from his autumn knee surgery and was expected to return to baseball activities before the end of the 2023 calendar year, with club officials hoping he would be able to return to regular work in center field in 2024. Since then, Helfand notes that Buxton has resumed baseball activities on a daily basis. Evidently, the return to activity has gone well enough to this point that Buxton and the Twins are confident he’ll be able to act as the club’s every day center fielder to open the year. That may help to take pressure off the club’s front office to find a replacement for center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who stepped in as a regular at the position last year while Buxton was unable to take the field. Internal options to back up Buxton in center currently include the likes of Austin Martin, Nick Gordon, and Willi Castro.

As noted by Helfand, Buxton isn’t the only Twins position player recovering well from offseason surgery. Both first baseman Alex Kirilloff and outfielder Jose Miranda under went surgery back in October and have been progressing well in the run-up to Spring Training. Both youngsters indicated that they hope to be ready to go once camp opens next month. Miranda’s big league career kicked off with a bang in 2022 when he impressed with a .268/.325/.426 slash line in 125 games, but his sophomore season didn’t go nearly as well as he was limited to just 40 games in the big leagues by injuries and ineffectiveness. Kirilloff, meanwhile, enjoyed something of a breakout season in 2023 as he slashed a respectable .270/.348/.445 in 88 games while splitting time at first base with Donovan Solano and Joey Gallo.

Twins Notes: Buxton, Center Field, Rotation

By Nick Deeds | December 2, 2023 at 7:32pm CDT

Twins fans received some positive news on the status of Byron Buxton today, as La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports that Buxton is fully recovered from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent back in October. Neal adds that team officials are pleased with Buxton’s progress and that the goal for the 29-year-old is for him to return to baseball activities by the end of 2023. It’s a promising update, particularly in tandem with recent comments from president of baseball operations Derek Falvey that indicated the club hopes to return Buxton to center field for the 2024 season.

Buxton, 30 later this month, struggled to stay healthy in 2023 even as the Twins moved him to the DH role on an everyday basis. Despite his typically elite center field defense, Buxton did not take the field at all this past season, appearing as a pinch hitter in five games and as the club’s DH in his other 80 appearances. The limited time on his feet unfortunately did not help Buxton stay productive at the plate, as he slashed just .207/.294/.438 with a 98 wRC+ that clocked in just below league average.

Considerable as Buxton’s struggles were in 2023, however, it’s difficult to overstate how transformative his the slugger’s presence can be when healthy. In addition to being one of the league’s most elite defensive outfielders, Buxton has shown the ability to provide game-changing offensive contributions as well. From 2020-22, he slashed a whopping .257/.317/.576 (144 wRC+) with 60 homers and 9.3 fWAR in 771 trips to the plate. The rub there, of course, is that Buxton was only to take the field for just over a full season’s worth of plate appearances across the shortened 2020 season and two full, 162-game campaigns.

Buxton’s substantial injury history led the Twins to acquire center fielder Michael A. Taylor from the Royals last offseason as a backup plan to Buxton. That decision proved to be a prudent one, as Taylor stepped in as the club’s regular center fielder in Buxton’s stead and performed admirably, pairing a strong glove with 21 home runs in 388 trips to the plate. With Taylor having departed for free agency last month, the Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale suggests that center field is the “biggest question mark” on the club’s roster as things stand, even as Buxton appears set to attempt to reclaim the regular job this spring.

If Buxton were to fall victim to the injury bug again, the Twins would have no other dedicated center fielder on their 40-man roster. That doesn’t mean the club completely lacks internal solutions. Nightengale notes that former fifth-overall pick Austin Martin, who has 65 games of experience in center at the minor league level, figures to focus on the position this spring, though he made just 12 appearances at the position last year and has yet to make his big league debut. In terms of players with major league experience, the club’s options in center field should Buxton be unable to handle full-time duties are limited to utility players Willi Castro and Nick Gordon, neither of whom has appeared at the position in more than 45 games in a season before.

That could make center field a position of need for the Twins even as they hope Buxton is able to return to everyday duties. The club’s plan to cut payroll this offseason makes a pursuit of top center field free agent Cody Bellinger impossible to imagine, though it’s at least plausible to imagine the club either re-signing Taylor or adding a similar piece like Kevin Kiermaier or Harrison Bader, who could easily play the position on a regular basis but wouldn’t necessarily demand everyday playing time. Of course, it’s possible even that sort of signing would cost-prohibitive without a trade of an veteran bat like Christian Vazquez, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler or Kyle Farmer. In that case, the club could be relegated to lower-tier free agents such as Kevin Pillar or a trade candidate like Trent Grisham or Dylan Carlson.

Nightengale also references the club’s expected pursuits of help in the starting rotation and at first base this offseason, though the rotation comments come with an interesting change of pace. While past reports have indicated the Twins are expected to focus on adding depth to the club’s rotation, Nightengale suggests that adding a “front-line starter” is a goal for the Twins this offseason, suggesting they could look to do so through the trade market. Given the club’s deep positional group and financial incentive to deal from that group, it’s easy to see how a deal for a front-of-the-rotation arm could come together.

That being said, Nightengale cautions that the Twins are far from alone in their goal of trading for a front-end rotation piece this offseason. While each of Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, and Tyler Glasnow have seen their names floated on the rumor mill so far this offseason even more teams have been floated as potential suitors. The Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, Reds, Padres, Mets, Red Sox, and Cardinals are among the clubs who have been connected to at least one of the aforementioned quarter of available arms, and it’s unclear if the Twins will be willing to outbid that crowded field to replace Sonny Gray at the top of their rotation alongside Pablo Lopez.

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