CLEVELAND — Every time Byron Buxton picked up his phone Thursday afternoon, there was a text message or news ping that one of his Minnesota Twins teammates was being traded.
Two days later, Buxton was still trying to take in all the moves the Twins made as the front office made nine trades and turned over nearly 40% of the roster.
Even though the 31-year-old center fielder is on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his ribs, Buxton joined the Twins in Cleveland for this weekend’s series against the Guardians because the franchise’s clubhouse leader wanted to be there to provide support and be a sounding board for teammates.
“I mean ,trading nine guys like that is something that’s not normal, so it was a little bit of a shock for sure,” Buxton, an MLB All-Star this season for the second time, said before Saturday’s game. “Right now, obviously, I haven’t processed it. I don’t know who has processed it, but something we’ll talk about a little bit more at the end of the season.”
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that having Buxton on the trip was important, not only for the support that he can give, but also because the former Gold Glove winner remains on track to rejoin the lineup Wednesday, when the Twins will face the host Detroit Tigers.
“Keeping him with our trainers here and being able to get on the field here with the group when he’s ready was important, but also the support that he’s going to be giving the guys around him,” Baldelli said. “Everybody looks to him, everyone looks to see how he’ll respond to things, and he’s a passionate guy. He cares about his teammates and his team and guys respect him immensely.”
The Twins made Buxton the No. 2 pick of the 2012 draft, and the Georgia native made his MLB debut in June 2015 after starting that season with the Chattanooga Lookouts, who were Minnesota’s Class AA affiliate at the time.
Buxton said he understands that baseball is a business, and he anticipated moves were going to be made near Thursday’s trade deadline. The amount of turnover was surprising to him, though.
The Twins’ most significant move close to the deadline was when shortstop Carlos Correa was dealt to the Houston Astros. Correa played his first seven MLB seasons for the Astros — and helped them win the 2017 World Series — before signing with Minnesota in 2022, and he still has a house in Houston. He waived his no-trade clause to make the deal happen.
“It’s one of those things where you didn’t think he was going to leave, but with the opportunity that was ahead of him and just him being an Astro before, it’s hard to pass that up in his situation. I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. It is what’s best for him,” Buxton said.
While there are a lot of unknowns about the Twins as the franchise remains for sale, Buxton is trying to focus on the present. That includes making sure the new faces on the team can get acclimated quickly, as well as trying to make sure the season doesn’t spiral too much out of control.
Minnesota won the American League Central Division in 2023, then missed the playoffs with an 82-80 record last season. The Twins (51-59) are eight games under .500 and on a four-game losing streak after Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Guardians.
“These guys coming up, I don’t want them to look at this as, ‘I’ve finally got a shot,'” Buxton said. “You came up here because you want to win and you want to be better. So it’s just playing together and having each other’s backs is going to be the biggest thing going forward.”