Byron Buxton has made himself clear that he wants to finish his career with the Minnesota Twins. The center fielder has been one of the most desired targets as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches but with each rumor, Buxton has remained loyal even using obscenities to get his point across.
While Buxton has been emphatic, the Twins hadn’t expressed the feeling was mutual until Tuesday night. Speaking to reporters before their 10-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, general manager Jeremy Zoll made it clear that the Twins are not planning on trading Buxton and are not planning to listen to trade offers ahead of the deadline.
“We have no plans to trade Byron,” Zoll said via Dan Hayes of The Athletic. “It’s not something we plan to explore. We continue to have productive discussions. [Buxton] was very clear on that point last week. From my seat, from the Twins’ perspective, that’s not something we plan to explore. I wanted to hit that head on.”
Things can always change as Carlos Correa wasn’t going to waive his no-trade clause until the Twins dealt 10 players on deadline day one year ago. But the Twins affirmation goes a long way for both sides to have a working relationship going forward and could go a long way to make sure Buxton stays in Minnesota for the entirety of his career.
Jeremy Zoll’s comments should put an end to Byron Buxton’s trade rumors
This all started at last year’s trade deadline. As the Twins shifted their roster toward a rebuild, Buxton told reporters he wanted to be “A Twin for life,” during last year’s All-Star festivities and reminded everyone of his goal to play his entire career with one team.
That didn’t stop ESPN’s Jeff Passan from reporting that Buxton was willing to waive his no-trade clause last December and while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that Buxton, Joe Ryan and Pablo López were not on the trade block, former president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey never came out publicly to say they weren’t trading their star player.
“All it takes is for somebody at the top to go to the media, ‘We’re not trading you,’” Buxton told Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune last February. “Trade rumors stop, and now we don’t have those conversations. That’s how simple this could get.”
Even after Buxton’s comments, the Twins never issued a public statement. This led to a pair of Atlanta sports talk radio hosts to suggest Buxton would waive his no-trade clause to go back to his home state. It also led Passan to list Buxton No. 2 on his list of 100 candidates to be traded before the deadline, creating another wave of speculation.
This time, Buxton was bolder saying, “I don’t give a f***” about the speculation. But Zoll also turned it up a notch with his comments on Tuesday and it makes sense given Buxton’s importance to the Twins.
Buxton was tied for the American League lead with 25 home runs entering Wednesday and is on pace for one of the best seasons of his career, hitting .275/.332/.595 with 41 runs driven in and seven stolen bases. He hasn’t been caught stealing since 2024 and still plays elite defense in center field even in his age-32 season.
A lengthy injury history could also convince Twins fans to move on from Buxton and capitalize on that success. But he’s overcome that, playing in 195 games over the past two seasons.
This is also a player who has used actions to pledge his loyalty to the Twins. Buxton could have left for a monster contract following the 2022 season, but he signed a seven-year, $100 million deal with incentives to stay in Minnesota in December 2021. While some may dismiss that due to the large amount of money in the contract, it’s also something that Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers haven’t done as they trend closer to being traded at the deadline.
Once again, plans could change if the Twins have another fire sale at the deadline. But with both sides adamant that Buxton isn’t being traded, it may finally put an end to all of the rumors. The Twins must hold up their bargain by putting a competitive product on the field, but Buxton seems willing to be part of it for better or worse as both sides move forward.
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