Twins' absurd weekend win further underscored why they can't trade Byron Buxton

To preface, Byron Buxton has made it clear he wants to be a Twin for life. However, it's plausible that the Twins' brass could try to convince Buxton to waive his no-trade clause this summer, especially if it meant he could play for his hometown team, the Atlanta Braves. It's also possible that Buxton could change his mind about wanting to stay in Minnesota. There's a decent argument for the Twins to trade Buxton if they can; the center fielder is 32 years old with a long injury history and will probably never be as valuable on the trade market as he would be this summer. However, he's the current face of the Twins franchise and has easily been the team's best player over the past two seasons. He put his team on his back during an insane Saturday game against the Guardians, further proving that the Twins would be making a mistake if they made him available on the trade market.

The Twins entered Saturday's game trailing the AL Central-leading Guardians by 4 1/2 games with a 16-23 record following a Friday loss to Cleveland. As early as it is in the season, a loss on Saturday would've made the Twins' postseason hopes feel even more hopeless than they already did. Luckily, Buxton's heroics gave Minnesota a much-needed win. Buxton led off the game with a home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

Shockingly, that was the only hit the Twins collected through the first nine innings of the game. Because of a strong start from righty Joe Ryan, who allowed just one earned run on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts over six innings, and the bullpen doing its job, the game went into extra innings. The game entered the 11th inning still in a 1-1 deadlock before Buxton once again came through with a big hit, giving Minnesota a 2-1 lead on an RBI double off the left field wall. To many's surprise, it marked Buxton's second hit with runners in scoring position this year. Minnesota held on to its 2-1 lead.

Buxton is keeping Twins' slim playoff hopes alive

The Twins also won the rubber match in Cleveland by a score of 5-4 on Sunday. Minnesota has a poor 18-23 record but trails the first-place Guardians by just 2 1/2 games and the third AL Wild Card spot by 1 1/2 games.

The Twins need to hold onto Buxton, who's slashing .259/.313/.556 (136 OPS+) with 13 homers and 21 RBI this season. Even if the Twins end up not making the playoffs this year, Buxton is under team control through 2028. Minnesota should go the Joe Mauer route and keep Buxton a Twin for life. Even though the center fielder will likely regress in a few seasons, he is the heart and soul of the Twins. Trading him would only anger an already disgruntled fanbase. Not to mention, he's still playing elite defense and is among the game's fastest players.

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