Sep 27, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (25) reacts to his home run during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Byron Buxton has been a popular name early this offseason as Phillies fans and analysts try to reimagine a team that's clearly in need of some change after four consecutive playoff appearances that haven't ended in a parade.
Buxton is hardly a ridiculous name to suggest. With Harrison Bader a free agent and uncertainty about whether Justin Crawford will be a center or left fielder, center field is a need. As is an impact right-handed bat, particularly if some combination of Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm and J.T. Realmuto might not be back in 2026.
For the second time in his career, Buxton was an All-Star this past season. His 35 home runs, 83 RBIs and .878 OPS earned him his first career Silver Slugger Award.
Buxton has been adamant that he wants to spend his entire career with the Twins, but there is some indication that if Minnesota further tears down a roster they already deconstructed this past summer, he might change his tune on that:
Derek Falvey said he wants to build around Joe Ryan and Pablo López instead of trading either. Making a deal could result in Byron Buxton being willing to waive his no-trade clause.
Also, the #MNTwins hired Grady Sizemore to coach base running.https://t.co/EHWMZ7kgZ1
So why not the Phillies?
Buxton will turn 32 in December. To his credit, he played 126 games in 2025. But that's the most since he played 140 in 2017. These are his game totals between 2017 and 2025:
2018: 28 games
2019: 87 games
2020 (60-game season): 39 games
2021: 61 games
2022: 92 games
2023: 85 games
2024: 102 games
There are some health concerns when talking about giving Bader a multi-year deal ahead of his age-32 season. But while Bader might get hurt, history shows us that Buxton will get hurt. With any other player, we'd look at his 2025 season and say, "He had an excellent year, but was limited to 126 games." With Buxton, 126 games feels like a best-case scenario. It's not a dis of Buxton to say that, because he is a great player. But you have to consider things like this when talking about trading for him.
To be fair, Buxton's injury history is reflected in the seven-year/$100 million contract he's playing under, a deal that runs through 2028. The base salary that Buxton will make the next three seasons is $15.14 million, which is laughably team friendly if he's healthy. The Twins did pay him $1 million in incentives this year based on plate appearances, which they are probably happy to do because it means he was available. Unfortunately for Buxton, he finished 11th in AL MVP voting, because had he finished anywhere between sixth and 10th, it would have triggered a $3 million bonus. He would get a $4 million bonus for fifth place, $5 million for fourth, $6 million for third, $7 million for second and $8 million for a win.
It's a unique contract, but a fair one for all parties involved. Think about it, if Buxton wins MVP, he would get paid between $23 and $25.5 million depending on his number of plate appearances, a pretty low figure relative to what most other MVP candidates make.
Still, the issue with Buxton isn't the contract. It's his availability. Sure, a $15.14 base salary isn't a lot to pay Buxton in theory, but if he plays 75 games, it's a ton, regardless how he fares when healthy. And more importantly, if he's not available when September and October roll around — an entirely realistic, if not likely possibility — then it would leave the Phillies really thin in the outfield because they will have devoted major resources to acquire and pay him.
The other issue — assuming you either re-sign Kyle Schwarber or bring in another slugger that's going to get the bulk of the DH at-bats — is that sticking Buxton at DH isn't really an option. The Twins used Buxton exclusively as a DH in 2023 in an effort to attempt to keep him healthy. That wouldn't be an option for the Phillies. Nor would it be if he sustained an injury that kept him from playing the field, like Bryce Harper did in 2022. (You could move Schwarber back to left field, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.)
For as tantalizing as the best-case scenario with Buxton on the Phillies would be, the most likely outcome of him having inconsistently available could very well be enough to turn Dave Dombrowski and company off from seriously pursuing a trade.
