Byron Buxton is such an interesting player. He is an immense talent who consistently produces top-end outcomes while never playing a whole season due to injury. That makes him a very high-risk target for
a team like Kansas City. Despite that, I think that he should be one of the players the Royals pursue aggressively, both because of the talent, the fit with this team, and the situation that he is currently in.
Let’s start with Minnesota. The Twins are a trainwreck of an organization, and if you were not paying attention to them this season, it was a bit more Real Housewives of Minneapolis than a baseball team should be. The Pohlads bought the Twins in 1984 and have had some nice eras of success as a franchise. The first owner was Carl Pohlad, who passed the team on to son Jim in 2009. The team is now in the hands of Joe Pohlad, nephew of Jim. At the end of the 2024 season, the ownership group announced their intention to sell the team, so it looked like the Pohlad reign was coming to a close.
At the trade deadline, the Twins got rid of almost half of their major league roster. Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran went to the Phillies, Carlos Correa back to Houston, Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak headed to Detroit, Danny Coulombe became a Ranger, Griffin Jax to Tampa, Brock Stewart was sent to the Dodgers, and finally Louis Varland and Ty France left the country and headed to Canada. It was quite the firesale, but then again, the team was going to be sold so maybe it was easier if the slate was a bit more blank for the new owner.
Except that less than two weeks later, it was announced that the sale of the team was cancelled. Some new investors came in and helped them pay down debt for minority stakes, and now they retain the team, but with the franchise in a very weird state. The team is not completely bereft of talent, though it is also hard to look at them as set up well to contend. If they still want to clear money off the books, Buxton would be a place to start, though he has said emphatically that he wants to stay in Minnesota. He has a full no-trade clause, which may have prevented him from being included in the mass exodus at the deadline. Why he wants to remain with the Twins is unclear, but it should not stop Kansas City from pursuing him, as he would instantly make the team so much better. Sometimes players use the no-trade clause to get added concessions and control where they go in a deal. Regardless, I think he is worth the Royals giving up a lot to acquire.
The corner outfield spots were so atrocious this season that they will remain the focal point of most Royals fans, but I think having a solid center fielder would help immensely. Buxton is a quality defender and batter who played about two-thirds of the Twins’ center field innings in 2025. Kyle Isbel has proven to be a good defender who is not good enough at the plate to warrant a starting spot. If the team plans on adding a corner outfielder through free agency, the pickings are slim. If they are planning on Jac Caglianone and Michael Massey manning the corners, there is a much higher chance of having another season of struggles than I think any of us would like. Buxton would need days off, giving Isbel time in center, and Buxton can also start in a corner once a week or so. Add in his value as a defensive replacement for Caglianone, or whoever is in right, and I think Isbel can still be a one to two WAR player in half to two-thirds the playing time. It right-sizes Isbel’s contribution while simultaneously beefing up the lineup and the corner outfield defense, especially in late and close games. No free agent of the group available could make an impact like this unless they want to pay a boatload to Kyle Tucker, which is not likely to happen.
On the downside, Buxton is fragile. Wrist, thumb, migraine, broken toe, shoulder, hip – he has hurt pretty much every part of his body, requiring time on the Injured List. He appeared in 126 games this year, just the third time in his 11-year career he has appeared in more than 100 games. He had a career-high 542 plate appearances this year, and although that workload is not ideal, it would make a world of difference to the beleaguered Royals outfield, especially if it brings 5 fWAR with it. You build around his limitations and count on Isbel as insurance. Again, plan a day off every week and have him DH once a week. This team doesn’t need him in center field all the time. Oh, and he can lead off, too, or hit in the middle of the lineup where the team needs another right-handed batter to push Salvy a little lower. Count on him missing some time, hope it is not in the playoffs, and just know that the gamble is worth it even if it hurts you in one of the next three years. He is signed through 2028 at the reasonable price of $15.1 million (and change) per year.
If it isn’t Buxton, I do hope the Royals aggressively pursue some center field help this offseason. I think it is one of two positions that need to be solved to make the puzzle of this team really fit on the position player side, along with second base. Getting those set will allow them to figure out the corner outfield plan, looking at both internal and external options. I just think the possibility of adding another MVP-level talent is very unlikely in any other way, so you have to take on the talent that is flawed. Guys like Aaron Judge have shown that an injury history does not guarantee that you can’t figure out how to be on the field most of the time as you get into your 30s, and Buxton has been available more the last two years, so maybe he is figuring it out. A move like this could make a huge difference for a team that wants to contend.
