The Twins have high expectations for their offense in 2021. It’s a talented group with veterans Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson playing alongside young players on the rise like Alex Kirilloff, Ryan Jeffers, and Luis Arraez. In the middle both metaphorically and positionally, however, centerfielder Byron Buxton undergirds the Twins’ machine in both halves of the inning. He’s the player on the roster with the highest two-way ceiling, and at 27 years old, he’s in his prime. He’s also two years from free agency. Buxton’s agent has been in contact with the Twins about a potential extension, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter), but there’s a lot for the Twins to consider.
Defense has long been Buxton’s calling card. He is routinely one of the more impressive performers in the grass, and the numbers back it up. He has averaged 18.3 defensive runs saved and 9.8 UZR per 1,200 innings, which roughly amounts to one season. Both are excellent marks. Statcast is similarly complimentary of Buxton’s glovework, crediting him with five outs above average in 2020. That tied with four others for sixth among outfielders, despite only appearing in 39 games. In 2017, when Buxton was healthy enough to play more than 100 games, he racked up 30 OAA, not only topping the field in that season, but setting the bar. It remains the highest single-season mark from any outfielder in the Statcast era by a fair margin.
Buxton entered the league less polished on the other end, but he has nonetheless come into his own over the past two seasons. Early in his career, he was plagued by strikeout rates over 30 percent, only average power, and well-below-average walk rates. The latter still holds true, but the Twins want him swinging the bat because good things happen when he does. His exit velocity has surged from 88.3 mph in 2015-18 to 90.4 mph the past two seasons. His power has climbed into an elite range as well, rising from .157 ISO his first four seasons to .292 ISO in 430 plate appearances across 2019-20. A bat that was 23 percent below average through 2018 has been 13 percent above average since.
Put together, Buxton’s potential is that of a two-way centerpiece at one of the most important positions on the diamond. The Twins have to be tempted to find a way to keep the former number two overall pick in a Twins uniform long-term. Buxton would like to stay in Minnesota, but the Twins are focused on keeping him healthy in 2021, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes.
Though the idea of Buxton wearing a Twins uniform long-term is tantalizing, the injury concerns are real. The Twins have placed Buxton on the injured list no less than 13 times since he’s been in their organization, with the ailments ranging from concussions to wrist sprains to shoulder issues. The Georgia native hasn’t seen his skills affected, however. He remains one of the fastest players in the game, finishing in the 99th percentile for sprint speed in every season of his career. He turned in a strong batted ball profile in 2020 as well, landing in the 85th percentile for exit velocity, 89th percentile for hard hit percentage, and 88th percentile for barrel percentage.
Finding the right price point for such a high-risk, high-ceiling player will be a challenge for the Twins and Buxton’s representatives at Jet Sports Management. The muddled centerfield market certainly doesn’t help matters. Despite it being one of the weaker positions around the game, Jackie Bradley Jr. struggled to find the kind of deal he was looking for and ultimately settled on a two-year, $24MM offer with an opt-out. Meanwhile, George Springer had no trouble securing a deal, signing in Toronto for six years and $150MM. There were no free agent centerfielders to sign a multi-year deal last winter. The year before it was AJ Pollock joining the Dodgers for five years, $60MM and Andrew McCutchen signing a three-year, $50MM deal with the Phillies. Neither player primarily plays center anymore, however. Lorenzo Cain signed a five-year, $80MM deal with the Brewers the year before that.
Pollock is a natural comp as an oft-injured potential star in center, but he was entering his age-31 season as a free agent, two years younger than Buxton would be after 2022. Cain was also 31, so was Dexter Fowler when he signed with the Cardinals, so will be Springer and Bradley in the first seasons of their new deals. Suffice is to say that it’s hardly a simple task to project what Buxton might find in free agency – especially two years from now under the conditions of a new CBA. The Twins have maintained flexibility in long-term payroll, with their luxury tax payroll falling from ~$147MM this year to ~$66MM in commitments for 2022 and ~$57MM the year after.
But let’s put the financial parameters of a deal to the side for now, and consider the question simply. Should the Twins try to sign Buxton to a long-term deal?
(poll link for app users)
No way Jose! The history of centerfielders getting free agent deals is no good.
This might be the most ridiculous poll I have ever seen. Literally every single comparison to Buxton on this list has been a complete failure from the standpoint of the team.
I Think TC Zencka knows his numbers. I watched him on the YouTube videos MLBTR used to make. I enjoyed watching him. The problem was he could never adjust the financial numbers when it came to real time. In other words: X-player signed a contract worth 10’s of millions of dollars and gave his team x-amount in return. Therefore, every player that produces at that level should at least be considered for an extension. TC Zencka is also very clearly the worst writer on this site. I regularly see him make blatant mistakes and post them. TC also seems to be the MLBTR writer who cares about his mistakes the least. I see other writes acknowledge and fix their mistakes. I see some not acknowledge but still fix their mistakes. TC does neither ever. During last seasons playoffs, TC posted an article during the playoffs last season. It happened right as the playoffs were starting. TC Zecka wrote the article about Marlins pitcher Jose Urena. Urena had just been injured. Jose Urena was done for the season. Urena had a forarm fracture. Do you want to know how TC Zencka titled the story? It was during the playoffs when the Braves were considered one of the best teams in the NL. The title was something like:
ACUNA HAS FRACTURE AND IS DONE FOR PLAYOFFS
Acuna? How did Acuna have anything to do with this? For almost three hours myself and several other people kept asking how Ronald Acuna got injured. TC Zencka never changed the name or even acknowledged he wrote anything wrong during those many hours thousands of people thought Acuna was injured and done for the postseasn. People make mistakes but TC Zencka makes the most and he doesn’t even bother to go back and check his own work.
TC Zencka is basically asking you, “Hey, guys! Should the Minnesota Twins make the exact same mistake the Cardinals made when they signed Dexter Fowler? Don’t worry. It’s okay… The Dodgers made the exact same mistake when they signed AJ Pollock for $60 million. It’s cool. Owners have made those mistakes in the past. That’s what people paid for injury prone center centerfielders before. Let’s just pretend they would all do it again. The Brewers signed Lorezon Cain to an $80 million contract and hasn’t given anywhere near the production Milwaukee wanted… but let’s pretend the Brewers expected his lack of production anyway. Considering Buxton is likely to produce about as much as these extreme under producers, shouldn’t the Twins just go ahead and pay him that?”
I know TC Zencka is good at counting. This article makes me wonder if he is any good at putting his counting stats together in real time and making any adjustments that happen in the market. I already know he is terrible at writing. I could handle TC Zencka being terrible at writing but I really can’t handle how little he cares about his own articles. If you make mistakes you should at least try to take advantage of an opportunity to learn how to fix your mistakes. If you know you have that opportunity and still don’t even bother to look at people pointing out how flagrantly wrong you are??? That just means you don’t care.
I am very close to a lot of people that have dedicated their lives to writing on a site like this. They would be much better than TC Zencka in the first place. On top of that, they would actually check their work. Why does this guy keep writing articles for MLBTR? He clearly doesn’t care enough to even look over what he does or double check it after he posts it. This stuff is a joke. I don’t know what TC Zencka is but he is DEFINITELY NOT A WRITER.
You got a 48/50 on your 20 page essay
Too many contractions.
Geez. Take two aspirins and enjoy the rest of your evening. Or maybe I should take two aspirins after reading this meandering rant. Reminds me of how the Twins homer blog Twins Daily did a massive takedown on Max Kepler because he wore a cap a fan sent to him that didn’t fit the politics of the writer.
I know it seemed a little harsh. I don’t usually call anyone out like that and I’m not into politics. You should talk to some people and ask what they think about TC’s writing on this site, though. He is clearly by far the worst writer and the worst part is he is also clearly the worst of anyone on this site at even pretending to make an attempt at improving his writing. He literally types his garbage up, hits send and never looks back. As a writer who employs other writers, I love feed back. I love criticism. It’s what made my employees who they are today. Some of them were very bad when they started and became much better writers than I could every hope to be. I just don’t understand how TC Zencka can care so much less than his co-workers. If every “writer” on this site were like TC…. This site would go from being really good to a complete joke. Why even have someone on your staff like that? It is very easy to replace them with someone much better. If they don’t know a better baseball writer, I will give them one. I owe my employees that. They work their butts off. They know how to write and always look to improve.
Too long to read. I value my time too much. Try to keep it to 2 paragraphs with a max of 60 words.
If a writer inspires this kind of passion, he may deserve a promotion.
You are DEFINITELY NOT A WRITER. So don’t waste your time and ours typing dissertations about another oersons’s writing ability.
Christ, you go on an enormous rant to complain about the author–completely avoiding the actual subject, Byron Buxton–while, ironically, showing everyone reading the comments why the comment section is often closed: The nastiness of some of the commenters.
If you don’t like it, why read it?
That was a rhetorical question, but I’m sure you’ll feel compelled to answer it while I’m busy with something more constructive.
Damn dude, your comment was longer than the entire post itself. Jeez. Chill. Im with the guy telling you to take 2 aspirin.
he’s kinda along the lines of JBJ in my mind anyways… great glove, good speed, don’t see the bat holding up over time
Value more along the lines of LBJ, not as comfortable playing the role of leading man who you’d want as the face of your franchise, but the kind of figure who gets a lot done behind the scenes and will ultimately help your team achieve its goals. With his tools, the Twins are in a position to achieve great things, the potential to build towards a Great Society as it were for the greater Minnehaha community
I give the Political comparison a 9.7 on the dive.. but the landing came up short.. I’d think more of the WJC.. lots of promise.. but to open to injury with his style..
Only more injured as well.
I just don’t trust he’ll ever play a full healthy season. Too many of his injuries are from the same thing (running full speed into the wall). Love the hustle but at some point you’d think he’d learn
body control is important.. he hasn’t learned it.. you can do a lot of amazing things if you control your body doing it.. Puckett would run up the walls instead of into them..
I love Byron, and he’s great when healthy, but you can’t extend a player who is only averaging 72 games played a year in his 6 year career.
Two words, Grady Sizemore
What exactly does Sizemore prove? It’s not smart to extend someone such a shoddy health record?
Steph Curry begs to differ on health records.
Travis Hafner?
If Buxton had performed like Sizemore had, I think there’d be more to discuss, but Grady was 2x+ better than Buxton’s best season so far.
Similar player to Bradley, you can argue Buxton has a slightly better glove, but you could also argue that Bradley has a slightly better bat. If you could sign him 6 or 7 at an AAV of 10-12M then go for it. But it’s not like we’re talking about a generational talent here.
That seems fair. Id even up it to 13 mill or so. But if someone (Yankees) overpays then be prepared like Elsa the snow queen to Let Him Go.
Yankees already overpaid one former Twin CF in Hicks so I doubt they’d ever go for Buxton lol
They may be similar players in terms of what kind of player they are, but Buxton is far better than Bradley in terms of defense at this point in each of their career’s. Last three sasons, Bradley only has +4 DRS and a 4.2 UZR/150. Buxton on the other hand has +11 DRS and a 14.5 UZR/150. But while Buxton has only played more than 100 games once during his time in the majors, Bradley is at least a sure 130-150 games.
It’s too risky of a deal for a small market club like the Twins. Love the talent and I hope he can stay on the field because he’s fun to watch.
Agree totally. I’ve always maintained that among KK/JBJ and Buxton, he’s the best (not by a ton, but he’s still #!). And he plays smart.
BUT, there’s the bat and the injuries. And Minny isn’t a team that can make a lot of mistakes with payroll; to be fair, $147M this year is about as far as they can go. And there’s room in the future, but as O’Dowd says, ” a mismanaged payroll medium-size club = a small market club”.
I like the guy, but I’d pass.
wjf010@comcast.net
The Twins are not a small market club. So tired of that as an excuse/description.
Minnehaha is a small ish market. Have you ever tried to park a car downtown? 4 bucks. A day. That’s small market
theo…swing and a miss…..one month ago, had an appointment downtown minneapolis…..parking garage rate – $9 per hour…..my point is that there are mid market teams…..Twins are one of them….Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cincinnati are small market.
Where are you parking for $4 a day? I work in downtown Minneapolis and I’ve yet to see that. You can park outside on 6th, just before you get on the entrance ramp to I-94 but you’re a world away from anything.
If it all works out, he’s a fine player who might finally put things tougher for a 4-5 year stretch, but injuries have been a problem and the bat has never quite developed despite the occasional hot streaks.
Has the game really changed that much that the fastest player in the league attempted a steal just three times??
Prolly more about the fear he’ll break if he steals too often. 90 ft with his speed isn’t worth the risk of a busted ankle, finger, wrist etc
Has to prove he can stay healthy before he can get paid
The problem is what if he proves it with an 8 WAR in 2021. No way can you sign him to an extension after that. I say sign him to a moderate contract that his agent will accept due to the historical risk of injury.
Then you take the two years you have left and grab the pick you should be able to get (if CBA still has that). Realistically, what are the chances he does that? ~0.
depends drastically on cost. if its a cheap one then sure. I wouldn’t commit loads to him with his injury concerns, and im not sold that ge reached his once-believed ceiling regardless.
I think they should offer him something similar to the new deal Hunter Dozier just signed with the Royals. Maybe even a little more since Buxton is a better player.
Best defensive center fielder in the game.
He’s my favorite Twin but due to injury history, i can’t see him deserving anything more than 10M AAV or so. If he’s willing to take that, then fine, but I’m guessing he’s not.
.289 career OBP…. Billy Hamilton has a .296 career OBP. Enough said.
I hope you have to eat your words, as 2021 has new green grass, and maybe this is the year Buxton explodes on the scene — yes, yes, 5 years late.
Also, Billy Hamilton has 10.3 WAR over 3100 plate appearances, and Buxton has 11.9 WAR over 1500 plate appearances. Enough said.
WAR? Hahahahaha. He can’t hit.
I’m just stating a fact. I’d be happy to see Buxton succeed.
Uh, no. Not ‘enough said’ because Hamilton has absolutely no power. Hamilton’s career SLG is .325 and his OPS+ is a ghastly 67. Buxton is .430 and 91, and over the last two seasons, he’s around .540 and 120, respectively.
Buxton had 2 walks last season. Enough said.
Let’s see him stay off the injured list first. He’s not even worth the 5 mil he’s getting for 2021
2 tool player, easy pass unless he wants a small deal in terms of years and aav. I wouldn’t go higher than 3/45
Not to bust chops, but do you mean buy out his FA years at 3/45? If so, that’s a 5 year deal
If you didn’t mean that, no way he gets 3/45 including 2 of his arbitration years. That’s way better than JBJ and JBJ was on the open market
Maybe if you paid him 40 cents on the dollar or could somehow structure the contract based on games or innings played, but even then its hard because he’s not reliably healthy. No player is certain to remain to healthy, but most of them are much more likely to remain healthy than he.
He played 140 games in 2017 but other than that, we’re looking at 46, 92, 28, 87, 39 (he did play in the minors some during these years but I don’t know how much of that was rehab). I know I couldn’t pull the trigger on anything more than a 1 year deal that isn’t almost entirely incentive-based.
Remember when people used to say this guy was going to be better than Mike Trout lol.
No, can’t say I do.
Don’t know about being better than Trout, but he was being sold as a 5 tool MLB player in waiting. Articles in MLBTR stated he had dominated levels of the minor leagues. Then the Twins held him down for a bit while MLBTR did their usual thing of accusing the organization of not starting his service clock. He finally got called up and couldn’t hit a lick. The K’s were excessive. Think they sent him back to the minors a time or two. Twins FO finally accepted the reality that their future 5 tool superstar was a world class defender and baserunner – seldom hit let alone with power, and his arm was nothing special.
Looks like he would have made a terrific Flankerback in the NFL…..were it a flag football league.
He was hurt quite a bit in the minor leagues as well. Believe he missed the majority of one season.
Think he can hang around MLB for at least 8 more years. There’s a history of older CF ballhawks that bounce from one team to the other for defense, with the hope that the FO catches lightening in a bottle one year on the hitting part. A Terrance Gore that can play D. Job will pay $2-4mm a year as a part-timer. Not a lot of positions like that in the real world. Invested wisely he’ll retire well before age 40 and never have to work again……who knows, maybe he can do that today.
P.S.
A major reason the Twins made that disastrous trade of Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for John Ryan Murphy was because they thought Buxton would be a far better CF and they needed a Catcher.
“ Pollock is a natural comp as an oft-injured potential star in center, but he was entering his age-31 season as a free agent, two years younger than Buxton would be after 2022. Cain was also 31, so was Dexter Fowler when he signed with the Cardinals, so will be Springer and Bradley in the first seasons of their new deals. Suffice is to say that it’s hardly a simple task to project what Buxton might find in free agency – especially two years from now under the conditions of a new CBA.”
This is just plain wrong. Buxton just turned 27 last week. He will be 29 when he hits free agency. This implies he will be 33. That’s a helluva difference
I think the poll would look quite different if that read properly
except everyone else recognized it was a typo and that he meant Pollack was 2 years older than Buxton will be.
Except I didn’t until I already voted, commented a few times and only then clicked on his BRef page
Congrats you know Buxtons age. I didn’t and was under the impression they already have him they age 33. Given 1/3 of the total votes, and nearly 2x as many total votes went to “uh, no” than any other option. It’s fair to say more than a couple people were under that impression.
This writer’s articles often contain a lot of mistakes and it does state that he’s currently 27, but that’s a pretty glaring typo to make.
That said, I was aware of his age and still voted no and it would seem from reading the comments that people would still vote no despite his age, so I’m not sure it made a huge difference.
Maybe the fact it said 27 at the top is what eventually made me pause with the pollock+ other comps. It seems the writer implies those contracts don’t apply because they would be younger than Buxton yet already 31. It’s just a different scenario than their analysis sets up. For ex, the pollock contract seems like a minimum to me RE: Buxton. They do not imply that, at all.
I’d also throw a devils advocate argument and say given that few comments mention 27 or 29, most people operated on the assumption he was already 31+ will be 33 at FA time. Let’s be honest, in a long article are people more likely to read mid paragraph 1 or the paragraph with market comps, just before the poll?
I couldn’t care less about most mistakes. But ones that legitimately change the meaning of a paragraph are worthy a request to fix. There’s a difference from what I’ve said and someone getting upset an apostrophe isn’t in the right location
Big fan of Buxtons potential, I hope we still get too see the best he has to offer – Guess I’m in the minority but Id be open taking a small gamble on a year or 2 of his free agency right now at a fair price.
It is really really hard to find a good CF these days
Imo, at most he’d give up is 2 years of FA time. Doubt he wants to hit market later than 31, unless the twins promise him some decent money for his FA years
I would take the not so popular stance if trading him after the 2021 season. If he can stay healthy and show some better consistency with the bat consider an extension, but he is a very high risk, high reward player.
Otherwise trade him for someone with ace potential in the next offseason. Do you think Cleveland would give up a Plesac, Civale, or McKenzie for him?
No. If you need to see more health and consistency from him to consider an extension, you’re not getting someone with ace potential for him. Especially not with minimal control.
I’d throw out a meaningless stat or two but I’m not that kinda guy.. the Overall picture is the twins Need Pitching, Pitching Pitching… you can always rent a position player on the relative cheap ( well virtually always.. ).. but the historical and future need for the twins is TOP level pitching.. they ain’t got it.. there is a reason they hold the World record for the most consecutive losses in the post season… Pitching Pitching Pitching..
That’s not necessarily true. The twins need guys that can actually hit the ball in meaningful (playoff) games. The pitching has been fine. They just can’t figure out how to hit a guy in, in the playoffs. (Minus Cruz). You need more than one though!!
Buy out his arbitration year and maybe tack on a year just to get cost certainty. No long term deal because any long term deal for Buxton will be underwater immediately
In terms of just bat alone, it’s odd that he’s no different than a C.J. Cron. Will hit for a lot of power, but that’s about it. Doesn’t get on base, only gives you about a .250-.260 BA. But while Cron is a 1B/DH with no speed, Buxton is one of the fastest men in the game, one of the best fielders in the game and has a rifle on his right shoulder. That bat plays a lot differently in CF than it does at 1B/DH.
He’s solid…. I am a fan of his game and believe in his potential… when it comes to money, I ain’t so sure about making an investment in Buxton. I could see a breakout season in 2021, but I’d really be skeptical of a long term contract.
I don’t know how to put the financials aside on this. That’s half the equation. If Buxton were willing to sign a 4 or 5 year contract at $4 or $5M a season than I imagine the Twins would draft up the paper work yesterday. If he is thinking more like $15-$20M a year, maybe not so much.
Why would he take less than what he’ll make in arbitration? He’s already over 5M this year (barely) and if the increase in arbitration keeps at this pace he will make over 8.5M next year.
I doubt he’s asking for 15-20 per year. I can’t say that with 100 percent certainty but that would imply that he’s a top 50 position player in MLB and he is not and I’m sure he knows that as well.
The most dynamic position player on the Twins is Buxton. The Twins’ pitcher equivalent is Jose Berrios. Both are homegrown talents and fan favorites drafted with their top 2 picks of the 2012 draft, in an otherwise dismal decade of top draft choices, until Kirilloff, Lewis and Larnach produce for the big club. If the Twins want to compete for the playoffs and beyond in the next 5 seasons, they need to lock them both up to 5 year deals. I see what everyone else sees with Burton’s injury history. I’ve also seen how he positively impacts the team in more ways than any other position player they have, and I’d be willing to gamble he’ll have his best seasons by far coming up. There are very few teams in baseball that wouldn’t want him as their regular CF, including every division winner from last season. My starting offer would be 5/60, and be prepared to go to 5/75, knowing that if he has a healthy season in 2021 without a new deal, his camp would laugh at those offers, so I’m all for betting on him now. Berrios has more bargaining power as a high quality starting pitcher who’s produced for 4 straight seasons, so I’d start with 5/75, and go as high as 5/90. Never underestimate the confidence a team gets from having players like that on your roster, and the Twins make zero playoffs in the last 4 seasons without them.
117 OPS+ with 23 HR over 129 games in 2019-2020 with all world defense in CF. Of course they should extend him.
Mediocre and injury prone. Good glove / no hit types are a dime a dozen.
Joe –
You’re a fool. Buxton put up 5.0 war his only season with 500 ab’s. He also put up 3.1 war in 295 ab’s in 2019 and 2.1 in 135 ab’s last year. Also 23 hr and close to a .260 avg over the last 2 partial years. That’s incredible production….VERY FAR from mediocre. Get me a dozen of those and I’ll win you a championship with your dime.
His problem is with health…that’s it. That talent is incredible and if you’d take a second to look at some numbers, you’d realize that for yourself
It’s interesting how much of a difference there is between Fangraphs and BBREF on the value for his 2017. That said, he was still a below average hitter that year. His value was largely tied to his defense, which doesn’t age well and doesn’t really seem to be valued the same in free agency. His offense does look to be improving the last two years, so there is hope, but I wouldn’t call that, “incredible production”.
100% wrong. Buxton skillset is quite rare!
Twins should only consider extending Buxton if there is no replacement currently in the system. Buxton might be a trade piece before the trade deadline if the Twins stumble out of the gate.
They have Celestino who could be ready in 2022 (for sure 2023) and Lewis if he doesn’t make it at SS (2023 or 2024 at best).
Celestino is defensively ready for MLB but needs more time in the minors for hitting. If comparing his stats to Buxton’s in the minors is any indication he’s a downgrade offensively.
Looks like most people are saying no. I’m on the opposite end of this, but not because he’s amazing. He’s very avg if you ask me and the fact that he’s earn mvp votes in his career is unbelievably bad where our game has come too. That said, I think if you can lock him up through 2025 on a stupid cheap contract, you prob should. He plays good defense, he hits well enough. So long as he doesn’t turn into ender, he should recapture the value you invest in him. I’d say, lock him up through. 2025 between 6-8 mil a year and that’s a steal. If he doesn’t take it, you really aren’t gonna lose much
How can you say locking him up would be a steal and then say that if you don’t you won’t lose much?!? That’s makes very little sense. You would lose quite a lot especially on defense without buxton out there.
Im saying locking him up on a stupid cheap contract is worth it and my price range would be a steal for him. $6 mil a year… yea, I’d take that for him as you still have to believe he has potential upside.. But if he says no, you can move on a find a serviceable replacement for same cost if not cheaper. Ie, you barely lose anything if he doesn’t sign at that price. It’s not rocket science lol
Well you really have no idea what you are talking about but that’s OK, keep trying!
I’m pretty sure those who voted “um no” are not Twins fans. Buxton is best defender in all of baseball! His contribution to this team should not be undervalued or downplayed. There’s not a team in baseball that wouldn’t want his skills roaming their centerfield. Twins should absolutely extend his services for as long as they can. When his offensive game catches up to his defensive dominance, that would be MVP level production. I hope he gets there!
Braves fans said the same about Ender. We locked him up at a “cheap” contract at the time and we have regretted that ever since. His batt just isn’t there yet to justify a large cost contract extension. If it’s cheap, even Ender range… prob worth the risk. He’s been so bad with the bat though, if I were him, I’d take whatever reasonable contract they offer
He’s also 27 with 6 years of mlb experience. Hes not exactly old yet, but his bat is likely in the ballpark of where it will be his entire career. He might improve just a tiny bit, but he won’t ever be MVP lvl unless that prospect pedigree finally magically clicks , which it might I guess lol
You’re so full of crap. He’s never really had a full healthy season at the MLB level. So to say his offense is where it will be is ridiculous. I still think he’s got a ton of growth left at the dish and we haven’t seen his full potential play out yet. Keep spewing your craziness, it’ll be fun to see how wrong you are in the years to come!
Has there ever been anyone like him. A marvelous defensive player, with elite speed, and tremendous power, who can’t hit? No one comes to mind.
JBJ is similar but I think JBJ is a better overall hitter and he’s healthier.
JBJ is at least durable. A cool breeze can take Buxton out for months at a time
I’m not sure I’d put him in the “can’t hit” category still. In many years past, sure, but If 2019 and 2020 are any indication, he can hit. League average wRC+ for a CF is about 95. He was at 111 and 118 in 2019 and 2020. League average regardless of position is 98. He hits better than the average player and definitely better than the average CF.
His biggest problem is health and it’s a very, very big problem because the Twins are a much better team when he’s on the field.
I think if an extension was going to happen it would’ve been done by now.
Nah for several reasons. 1) he can’t stay on the field so its a risky organizational move for the twins. 2) he can’t stay on the field, so it would be selling himself short from a player’s perspective. Also there really hasn’t been a reason to lock him up…no impending free agency…still in his arb years with no huge resume to warrant big pay raises.
Uh No
Tough choice. They may eat it if Buxton can put together a 30/30 season in any of his Arbitration years, without an extension. But, they may eat it if they extend him, too.
Buxton is an albatross. Too good to not get an above-average to great CF to replace him whenever he’s injured.
Good player, but CF is essentially a platoon position for the Twins.
He’s fast when he plays. Problem is he doesn’t stay healthy enough.
Right-handed hitting, centerfield (vs RF), and a lot more speed, but I see him in similar light as Jason Heyward. If extending, make sure it’s a 2 year deal.
Trade him to Rox for Jon Gray
Of course it all comes down to money and years. If you can extend him a few years maybe but anything more than that could really hurt the Twins. Keep in mind the Twins are good now but when that extension rolls around guys like Donaldson will be an overpaid aging veteran and Nelson Cruz will be done. The Twins window is now I’d keep my options open for when it closes. They aren’t a large market and will likely have to rebuild around the time Buxtons extension starts. Hard pass for me