Minnesota Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll responded to rumors the team is shopping star CF Byron Buxton, saying it’s not going to happen.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zoll said that the Twins are not trading Buxton ahead of this year’s MLB trade deadline, even though he is one of the most obvious trade targets on the board for contenders.
“We have no plans to trade Byron Buxton,” Zoll told reporters.
Byron Buxton Has a Lot of Trade Value
On paper, Buxton makes a lot of sense as a trade candidate. The 32-year-old slugger is having another outstanding year for the Twins, batting .275 with a .975 OPS and a 151 OPS+, indicating his bat has been 51% better than league average. He has also accumulated 3.0 bWAR to this point in the season.
Buxton is playing this year on a $15.14 million contract, with two more identical years going forward. Given how much value he provides for his current contract, the fact that he’s 32, and the fact that the Twins are a mediocre team that isn’t a legitimate contender, it makes sense that the Twins trade him.
But Buxton has said he doesn’t want to go anywhere, and the Twins don’t want to trade him either, so it looks like he’s staying put.
“I don’t give an (expletive). End of the day, nobody’s in my shoes. Nobody can say anything about what I’m going to do. I know what I’m a doing. The only way I’m getting out of here, they’re going to have to come talk to me and tell me something else. Simple as that. I ain’t said nothing about leaving, nor will I. I’m a Twin,” Buxton recently said regarding trade speculation.
Byron Buxton is a Career Twin
Buxton was drafted in the first round with the second overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft. He has spent his entire 12-year MLB career in the Twin Cities, racking up 32.8 bWAR during that time. He is one of the best-hitting center fielders in the game, and he has also won a Gold Glove for his defense in the past. He loves being a Twin, and he doesn’t want to go anywhere.
But given where the teams are in the team’s competitive cycle, it makes a lot more sense for them to trade Buxton and get some prospects in return for the team’s best player. Last year, the Twins sold off the majority of their veterans at the trade deadline, but Buxton stayed put. It looks like that will be the case once again this year, though the rampant media speculation won’t stop about him being traded, even though both the player and team have said he is not going anywhere.
It is worth noting that Buxton has 10-and-5 rights, meaning he can veto a trade if the Twins came to him with a proposal. Ultimately, it will be up to him if he wants to go anywhere. But based on what both Buxton and Zoll have said, he’ll remain in Minnesota past this year’s trade deadline.
Twins GM Reveals Team’s Trade Plans for Byron Buxton