Byron

Buxton

Buxton’s presence has been assumed for months, but the confirmation took quite a while. He’s set to be joined by Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the Team USA outfield, so it’ll be interesting to see how that sets up. PCA probably should be in there against righties, with Buxton starting in center against lefties and coming off the bench.

The expectation was that the Twins would consider the fire sale that they started at the trade deadline, but it appears as though they’re content to hold onto their best assets as they look to reload rather than rebuild for the 2026 season. That could put more pressure on the teams in the market for starting pitching via free agency as now there’s a two fewer quality options available.

Buxton has mentioned publicly that he wants to remain with the Twins, but that he also wants to play for a contender. Hayes specifically mentions that trading away one or both of Joe Ryan or Pablo López could force Buxton to reconsider his desire to stay in Minnesota. Buxton has a full no-trade clause through next season and then can block trades to five teams in 2027 and 2028. He has three years and $45 million remaining on his current deal, so the Twins, who appear to be cutting costs, could be open to moving him and trying to build around a younger roster.

Judge takes home a silver slugger for the fifth time in his career. He joins Byron Buxton and Riley Greene in the outfield in taking home the award. The full list of winners: Cal Raleigh (C), Nick Kurtz (1B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), José Ramírez (3B), Judge (OF), Buxton (OF) and Greene (OF) and George Springer (DH).

One of the bigger surprises in the fantasy landscape this season, Buxton managed to stay healthy for a whopping 126 games, his highest single-season total since the 2017 campaign. The 31-year-old center fielder finishes the year with a solid .264/.327/.551 slash line with 97 runs scored, a career-high 35 home runs, 83 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 542 plate appearances.

Buxton opened the scoring with a 386-foot (99.1 mph EV) solo shot off of Ranger Suarez in the top half of the first inning. It’s unfortunate that it happened in a season in which the Twins were never really competitive, but Buxton managed to stay mostly healthy and has had a career year in his age-31 season. With his two-hit attack he’s slashing .264/.327/.551 with career-highs of 35 homers and 83 RBI while also swiping 24 bases in 24 attempts.

Buxton’s solo homer off Tyler Mahle to open the first was his 10th leading off a game this season. He then put the Rangers away with a three-run homer off Chris Martin in the eighth. Buxton is tied for seventh in the AL with 34 homers, and he’s fourth with his .879 OPS in 124 games. He definitely belongs somewhere in the top 10 on AL MVP ballots.

Buxton went deep for the first time since September 10 when he took Rangers ace Jacob deGrom deep for a leadoff homer in this one, snapping an 11-game home run drought. The 32 round-trippers are a new career-high mark for the oft-injured 31-year-old center fielder, who has managed to stay healthy for 123 games so far, his highest single-season total since 2017. He’s also chipped in 24 steals this season, just for good measure.

Buxton returns to helm Minnesota’s lineup following a brief one-game absence. The 31-year-old center fielder managed to avoid serious injury after being hit by a pitch on the right knee during Sunday’s game against the Royals a couple innings after smacking his career-high 30th round-tripper of the season.

No surprise here after Buxton’s precautionary exit from Sunday’s game against the Royals after being hit by a pitch on the right knee. The 31-year-old might need a few days off to rest and recover, but it doesn’t appear to be a serious concern.