PHILADELPHIA — When Byron Buxton sits down this winter and reflects on his season, perhaps the number that will stick out to him the most is 126.

More important than the home runs — he hit a career-high 35 of them — or the 24 stolen bases, or any other stat from his all-star season, counts as much to Buxton and the Twins as the 126 games he was able to play this season.

That number represents the second-most Buxton has played in any single season in his career. He missed time for a concussion and ribcage inflammation this season, but neither ailment sidelined him for long.

“I just need to play. My numbers will be there. I don’t care about my numbers this year. I just want to play,” Buxton said. “Post up every day, be there for my teammates, play the majority of my time in center field, not DHing. That makes a difference, too. For me, being able to post up, that’s my biggest feeling, because I haven’t been able to.”

Buxton, who slashed .264/.327/.551 this year and was a five-win player, per FanGraphs, was out in center field for 118 of those 126 games. He made his second All-Star Game and participated the night before in the Home Run Derby in his home state of Georgia.

Though the team finished with 92 losses and the second-worst record in the American League, Buxton reaffirmed his loyalty to the Twins multiple times, both before and after the trade deadline.

“It is strange,” he said of having a career season while the team struggled. “I guess I just simplified it to take it one day at a time. Just be grateful to put this uniform on. Can’t play forever. I’ve definitely got to cherish every day I can.”

Now, Buxton will head into his second straight healthy offseason. Rather than recovering from surgery or spending his winter days in and out of physical therapy sessions, he can simply focus his attention on preparing for next season, building off of one of the best individual years in his career.

“He aced the test this season,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s what he did.”

Rotation shines

The Twins’ starting rotation saved its best for last.

The group of six turned in some of their strongest individual performances, ending Sunday with Simeon Woods Richardson, who threw six shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, striking out nine.

“I thought we did a really good job of throwing the ball, throwing strikes, executing,” Woods Richardson said. “I think all of us starters went six. That’s huge for a rotation. … That’s what we want in a starting rotation.”

Well, almost all of them.

Joe Ryan gave up one earned run in five innings on Friday before Mick Abel, traded over from the Phillies at the deadline for Jhoan Duran, put up a six-inning shutout performance with nine strikeouts Saturday.

Those performances against one of baseball’s best offenses came after Zebby Matthews threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Texas Rangers, Taj Bradley gave up just a run in six innings against Texas, and Bailey Ober threw six scoreless.

“It might be the best stretch of pitching over a course of a week that we got all year,” Baldelli said. “I think that’s precisely what you’re hoping for. It’s showing everyone just what the group is capable of when they’re throwing the ball the way we want.”

Briefly

A division race that Detroit seemed to have well in hand for much of the season wound up coming down to the season’s final day with the Cleveland Guardians clinching the American League Central after their dramatic late-season comeback. Those teams now meet in the wild-card round this week in Cleveland. …  Former Twin Michael A. Taylor, the team’s center fielder in 2023, announced his retirement on Sunday. Taylor played 12 major league seasons, winning a World Series ring in 2019 with Washington.

Related Articles

Walk-off loss sends Twins into an offseason filled with uncertainty

Traded by Phillies, Twins starter Mick Abel dominates in win over former team

As season nears end, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli not focusing on job status

Joe Ryan wraps up best season of his career in Twins loss

Traded former Twins Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader thriving in Philadelphia

Police are investigating the death of a woman after a traffic accident Sunday afternoon in St. Paul.

Officers responded to a report of an accident with injuries at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of Stinson Street, according to a St. Paul police spokesman. When they arrived on the scene, they found a 36-year-old woman who was unconscious and not breathing. St. Paul firefighter medics pronounced the victim dead on scene.

The vehicle driver, an adult male, remained on scene and cooperated with authorities. The incident investigation is ongoing. Police said preliminary evidence suggests the vehicle struck the woman before coming to a stop in a backyard.

Related Articles

Hastings police chief ‘deeply grateful’ as he announces retirement date

Stillwater-area churches collecting guns to forge into garden tools

Bicyclist struck, seriously injured in crash in Stillwater Township

Pedestrian struck and killed in crash near Lake Phalen in St. Paul

GoFundMe set up for family of St. Paul contractor who was killed by construction vehicle

Founded in 1858, the Hastings Police Department will soon bid farewell to its 56th chief of police.

Hastings Police Chief David D. Wilske announced his plans to retire after working nearly 30 years in law enforcement. Wilske’s retirement will be effective March 31, 2026.
(Courtesy of the City of Hastings)

Hastings Police Chief David D. Wilske has announced his plans to retire after working nearly 30 years in law enforcement. Wilske’s retirement will be effective March 31, 2026, according to a city news release.

“I’ve said this many times before — I wish I had started my law enforcement career with the Hastings Police Department,” said Wilske, who first joined the department in May 2017, in the release. “The community support, the professionalism of our officers and the partnerships we’ve built have made this an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Prior to his time in Hastings, Wilske spent 20 years with the University of Minnesota police, working his way up from patrol officer to operations lieutenant.

Wilske started in Hastings as deputy chief, overseeing department training and development, fleet management, emergency management and the supervision of investigative and evidence room operations.

In the spring of 2022, Wilske was appointed Hastings police chief, succeeding Bryan Schafer, who retired after a 39-year career in law enforcement, the last nine years of which he spent in Hastings.

Prior to Wilske’s promotion to chief, the department had experienced a decrease in certain crimes including criminal homicide, aggravated assault, rape, burglary, motor vehicle theft and human trafficking. In 2020, the department tallied 434 of these incidents, down from 624 in 2015.

During that same time period, there was an increase in certain crimes including fraud, other assaults, vandalism, drug abuse violations and stolen property. The department tallied 742 of these incidents in 2020, up from 680 in 2015.

​Under Wilske from 2022 to 2024, the department did not record any homicides and saw a decrease in robberies and burglaries. Crimes against people, including assaults and intimidation, were down 24% in 2024 compared to 2023​, according to the department’s 2024 annual report. Crimes against property, including vehicle theft and shoplifting, were down 9% in 2024 compared to 2023.

During Wilske’s tenure, the department expanded collaboration with community organizations like the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau and 360 Communities. The department also increased the presence of school resource officers in local schools and supported local nonprofits like Hastings Family Services and Special Olympics Minnesota.

“Chief Wilske has served the city of Hastings with distinction, provided steady leadership for the department, boosted morale and engagement and helped bolster the Police Reserve Unit,” said City Administrator Dan Wietecha in the release. “I have been particularly impressed and pleased by the partnerships and collaboration he has strengthened with key community organizations.”

Under Wilske’s tutelage, the department also secured grant funding for resources, including ballistic helmets and special event barriers, expanded its records division and upgraded its facilities, including the workout room and created an on-site kitchen to support officer health and wellness.

Related Articles

Looking for a mentor: Iris

Inver Grove Heights man gets 20 years for ‘coercing and manipulating’ girls to send nude photos

Judge finds Current DJ’s stalker violated restraining order but not guilty due to mental illness

Burnsville: Construction worker fatally struck on I-35W

Gym chain to celebrate first Rosemount location

“I have truly enjoyed coming to work each day and am deeply grateful to police department officers and staff, City Council, city administration and the community for their unwavering support over the years,” Wilske said.

The city of Hastings will begin preparations for a leadership transition in the coming months with details to follow.

PHILADELPHIA — Royce Lewis wondered out loud if his home run last weekend might have come in his last game as a Twin at Target Field.

Joe Ryan believed he had been traded for a few minutes at the July trade deadline because of an erroneous post on social media. Now, he acknowledges that his future is “so far out of my control.”

The thought of a potential trade has crossed Pablo López’s mind, as well, particularly because one of his aunts often searches his name on social media and asks him what he think might happen.

The Twins officially concluded their season on Sunday with a 2-1 to walk-off loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Former Twin Max Kepler tied the game in the eighth inning with a home run, and outfielder Harrison Bader — dealt at the deadline — scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly.

They are moving on to the postseason, while their former teammates begin an offseason filled with uncertainty.

Will manager Rocco Baldelli be back for his eighth season after missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years? Will the coaching staff remain in place? And what of the roster, one that was dismantled at the trade deadline and went on to lose 92 games? Will there be more trades?

The offseason, if anything, figures to be an interesting one for the Twins as they chart their path forward.

“I have zero clue what’s going to happen,” center fielder Byron Buxton said.

This season, Baldelli admitted, felt like two. There was the first four months, in which they started slow and pulled themselves back over .500 with a 13-game winning streak but struggled to find the consistency they were looking for. And then there was the final two months after 10 regulars were traded to contending teams, giving rookies and younger players an opportunity to show what they can do with the increased playing time.

Though the Twins adopted a new, more aggressive style of play — one they very well could take into next season — the results in the final two months were predictably underwhelming without the services of five members of the bullpen, four position players and a starting pitcher.

“I think we’re definitely entering a new era organization-wise,” López said. “I guess we might know the direction of the team. It’s probably rebuilding the younger group, younger side of things, more aggressive. Kind of find that fearless mentality.”

López, who ended the year on the injured list after hurting his arm while making a diving play, returned near the end of the season after missing more than three months on the injured list with a teres major sprain.

The team he left and the team he came back to couldn’t have been more different. When he was hurt, the team was in the Wild Card mix; when he returned, the Twins were well out of contention, and there was a whole new cast of characters around him.

“Did I think it was going to fall apart like that? Not at all,” López said. “I didn’t want it to, and didn’t think it was going to. It was painful to watch in a sentimental way, an emotional way. It was sad.”

Nobody could have predicted it, really. A 9-18 June and a mediocre July where the Twins couldn’t gain much traction sealed the fate of a team that had collapsed during the final six weeks of the previous season, leading to the sell off.

And now, what Baldelli described as a “winter of work,” begins. The season ended on Sunday, but in some ways, the work has just begun.

“At the end of the day, I see the big picture and the decisions they’ve made, and I think they’re good decisions and the trajectory of the organization is positive,” Ryan said. “Hopefully we’ll make a couple of other moves and see where that goes.”

Related Articles

Traded by Phillies, Twins starter Mick Abel dominates in win over former team

As season nears end, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli not focusing on job status

Joe Ryan wraps up best season of his career in Twins loss

Traded former Twins Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader thriving in Philadelphia

Royce Lewis acknowledges uncertainty as Twins’ season nears end