The Minnesota Twins will return from the All-Star break in an odd spot. With a 47-49 record, they are still in the American League wild card race, and they have several players set to return from injury in the near future. However, if they don’t go on a run right out of the gate, they could opt to act as sellers ahead of the trade deadline. One thing’s for certain, though, and that’s that Byron Buxton will not be on the move.
If the Twins decide to sell, they have several players at their disposal that would command quite a bit of interest on the trade market. One of them is Buxton, who is fresh off earning the second All-Star selection of his career. According to Minnesota’s president of baseball operations, Derek Falvey, it appears that he has no interest in trading Buxton, even if the team continues to receive calls from teams across the league.
“I think all 29 other clubs in baseball would love to have Byron Buxton on their roster,” Falvey said on “The Show.” “I can tell you that we love having Byron Buxton on this roster. So, the rumors are the rumors, the noise we can’t control … Byron’s a Twin. He mentioned that he always has been, that’s what we love about him. He’s a leader in our clubhouse, it’s who he is.”
How will Twins approach the upcoming trade deadline?
Buxton is in the process of putting together the most complete season of his career, as he’s hitting .289 with 21 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. As a result, it’s not hard to see why he’s generating trade interest, but he’s not the only player teams are interested in. Other stars like Joe Ryan, Carlos Correa, and Jhoan Duran have seen trade rumors swirl around them, but as of right now, it doesn’t seem like Falvey and the front office are planning a full-scale fire sale.
As of right now, the Twins are toeing the line between buying and selling, but it seems more likely they will try to add to their core group, rather than selling off spare parts. Anything could change, but Minnesota will look to get itself back into the AL wild card race when it kicks off a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.