Hamilton would ease the sting of losing Buxton in the outfield
Another positive in bringing in Hamilton is his defensive ability. While he has never won a gold glove, he does bring a flashy glove into the outfield thanks to his uncanny speed. Over the course of his career, Hamilton has put together a UZR, which measures how many runs a player saved or gave up on a given play, of 54.1.
That overall number is impressive and while he hasn’t been the elite defender he was during his time with the Cincinnati Reds (11.3 UZR in 2014 and 11.9 in 2016), he still has been able to get the job done with an 8.6 UZR in 2019.
In case you were wondering, that number stacks up well compared to Buxton. who owned a 8.6 UZR himself prior to injuring his shoulder.
With the Twins pitching staff being far from a lockdown unit, their defense is going to be under a huge spotlight in the coming weeks. If Buxton isn’t ready to go or the Twins want to use a late-game replacement for either Eddie Rosario or Kepler, it wouldn’t be a downgrade to have Hamilton come in and help the staff out.