CLEVELAND — Derek Falvey spent much of Thursday on his phone as the Twins completed seven separate trades and completely reshaped the look of their roster. Among the many, many calls the Twins’ president of baseball and operations made was one to Byron Buxton, one he felt the all-star center fielder deserved.
“He is the core and heartbeat of this team,” Falvey said. “He’s part of this and he’s part of our fabric.”
And even as the names on the roster changes around him, Buxton will remain the core and heartbeat of the Twins.
Signed to a contract that includes a no-trade clause and will keep him in Minnesota through the 2028 season, Buxton is adamant, even through this week’s roster purge, that he would not want to be anywhere else.
“Nothing’s changed. It’s just part of baseball. It’s the business side of it. Just cause we go through these tough roads or whatever, it is what it is,” Buxton said before the Twins’ loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday at Progressive Field. “I ain’t going nowhere.”
The longest-tenured Twin, Buxton made the trip to Cleveland to be with his teammates even though he is on the injured list with left ribcage inflammation and will not be eligible to return until later on the road trip.
It was important to him to be with his teammates during a time of such great turnover and turmoil. Almost 40% of the Twins’ 26-man roster was traded between Monday and Thursday as the front office tried to hit the reset button on an underperforming roster.
“I’m just being myself. Just want to make sure … guys here know that it’s good to be happy, good to be comfortable,” Buxton said. “Just want to be normal. Obviously, it’s been a tough couple of days.”
Like everyone else, Buxton expected there would be some trades, but he couldn’t have predicted what was coming. Ten players were traded in all, including shortstop Carlos Correa and closer Jhoan Duran.
Buxton spent Thursday, the day of the trade deadline, at home in Minnesota with his three young sons — Brixton, Blaze and Baire — providing him with some helpful distractions. He would put his phone down for a couple hours and every time he picked it up, he’d see news of another trade.
“It was heartbreaking,” Buxton said.
It was tough for his wife, Lindsey, and their kids, too. After all, they had formed their own bonds with the families of the players who were traded, spending hours upon hours at ballparks together from city to city across the country.
At the end of an emotional day, he got on a plane to be a rock for his teammates, a gesture that was clearly appreciated throughout the clubhouse.
“Having that leader definitely helps,” right fielder Matt Wallner said. “That gives us some sense of normal. If he wasn’t here, it would be ‘Wow, this is different.’ It’s obviously different. I’m just glad Buck is here.”
While he said he still has yet to fully process what happened — “I don’t know who has processed it” — he said he spoke with former Twin Justin Morneau, who delivered the message that Buxton has “an opportunity to kind of change the culture here,” something which he said he took to heart.
He also had a conversation with manager Rocco Baldelli, who said he owed it to Buxton as “the heart and soul of the team” to talk about what just happened, why it happened and what the path forward for the team looks like.
One which Buxton will be very much a part.
“We’ve just got to come up here and play smart baseball, play great baseball and everything else will take care of itself,” Buxton said. “Keep picking each other up. It’s a lot of new faces in here that probably ain’t comfortable at the moment so it’s one of my responsibilities to get it right in here.”
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