As Twins fans know, it was a dark season for their favorite team. Minnesota missed the playoffs for the second straight season after finishing the 2025 campaign with the second-worst record in the American League (70-92) behind the Chicago White Sox (60-102). However, one bright spot for the Twins this year was the performance of the team's longest-tenured player: Byron Buxton.
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton among American League Silver Slugger Award winners
On FanSided's "The Baseball Insiders" YouTube show on Friday evening, it was announced that Buxton, who hit .264/.327/.551 (136 OPS+) with career-highs in homers (35) and RBIs (83) this year, is among the 2025 American League (AL) Silver Slugger Award winners for outfielders. Aaron Judge (unsurprisingly) and Riley Greene are the two other AL outfielders to win the award.
Buxton's new award caps a long 11 seasons for the veteran. In Dec. 2021, Buxton, as a 27-year-old who had played in just 493 games across parts of seven seasons, signed a seven-year, $100 million extension with the Twins. The extension includes bonuses for recording a certain number of plate appearances and finishing in the top-10 in MVP voting. At the time, it seemed like a steal to have Buxton at just $100 million for seven years. However, given his injury history, the contract made sense for both parties involved.
Buxton wanted to stay with the Twins, even though the team has failed to make it past the Divisional Round throughout their star center fielder's tenure. Buxton made his loyalty even more apparent during this year's All-Star break when the Twins weren't playing great, and it was becoming increasingly more obvious that the team would initiate a fire sale at the trade deadline.
“I’m going to be a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life,” Buxton told reporters. “It’s the best feeling in the world, knowing I can walk into a clubhouse that says ‘Minnesota Twins’ for the rest of my life.”
Let's hope Buxton stays healthy for most of the season again in 2026. Let's also hope his team doesn't let him down for the second straight year.