With Major League Baseball teams preparing for the 2025 MLB Draft, there likely will be a lull in trade rumors over the next week. Most front offices are locked onto finalizing their draft strategy, so trade activity likely won't pick up until after the All-Star break. Given the lull in rumors, ESPN's David Schoenfield believes now is the time to drop some completely unhinged trade ideas.
In the make-believe scenario, Schoenfield comes up with trade ideas for three players who almost certainly won't be traded at the deadline. The players included in this exercise are Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.
As we talked about before, when Bleacher Report had an outrageous Buxton trade idea, it makes very little sense for the Twins to move their All-Star center fielder. Nevertheless, that was the purpose of Schoenfield's exercise.
ESPN might’ve gone too far with these Byron Buxton trade proposals
Trade Proposal 1: Twins trade Byron Buxton to the Philadelphia Phillies for right-handed pitching prospect Andrew Painter and center fielder Justin Crawford
- Painter, the Phillies' top prospect and No.10 in baseball, is knocking on the door of being Major League ready and would give the Twins a controllable ace for years to come. Crawford, another Top 50 prospect in baseball, would seemingly be the replacement for Buxton in center field for the Twins.
Trade Proposal 2: Twins trade Byron Buxton to the Cincinnati Reds for right-handed pitcher Rhett Lowder, right-handed pitcher Chase Petty, and third baseman Sal Stewart.
- All three prospects are within MLB Pipeline's Top 100, and would work in favor of the Twins' restocking their farm system. Lowder and Petty could be long-term fixtures in the Twins' rotation, while Stewart could be the answer to the team's need for a third baseman if Royce Lewis can't return to form.
Trade Proposal 3: Twins trade Byron Buxton to the Kansas City Royals for starting pitcher Cole Ragans, and left-handed pitcher David Shields.
- This is a downright disrespectful proposal considering there's already no chance that the Twins would trade Buxton to a team within their division. Beyond that, Ragans is carrying the package, and his 2025 regression suggests there would need to be more added to the deal beyond a low-level lottery ticket.
Of the three proposals, the trade with the Phillies is likely the closest to what the Twins would be asking for in a potential trade of Buxton. That said, even the Phillies' offer lacks true value for the Twins as they would slam shut any idea of contending for the next several seasons if they were to move Buxton.