Byron Buxton is back at spring training in Fort Myers and he is not holding back about how the offseason went.
The Minnesota Twins center fielder spoke to reporters on Sunday for the first time since last season ended, and his message was direct when it came to the trade rumors that followed him all winter long.
"All it takes is for somebody at the top to go to the media, 'We're not trading you,' " Buxton said Sunday, Feb. 15.
"Trade rumors stop, and now we don't have those conversations. That's how simple this could get."
A Frustrating Offseason
Buxton holds a full no-trade clause in his contract, so he always had the final say on any potential deal.
But that did not stop his name from popping up in trade speculation throughout the winter months.
After the Twins tore things down at the 2025 trade deadline and moved 11 players off the roster, questions about whether the organization would go even deeper into a rebuild kept swirling, and Buxton was often at the center of those conversations.
.@robparkerMLBbro ranks Byron Buxton as his No. 1 Center Fielder Right Now 💪#Top10RightNowpic.twitter.com/5nnZtjbtbY
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) January 31, 2026
The 32-year-old made his feelings clear well before spring training started.
He told reporters at last year's All-Star Game that he was "a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life," and he repeated that same pledge after the deadline fire sale.
So when the offseason rumor mill kept churning anyway, it clearly wore on him.
Buxton wanted the front office to step up publicly and put an end to the noise, something he felt would have been a simple fix.
Building on a Career Year
What makes the whole situation even more frustrating for Buxton is the fact that he just put together arguably the best season of his career.
After years of battling injuries and availability concerns, Buxton played in 126 games in 2025 and delivered across the board.
He finished the year hitting .264 with a .327 on-base percentage and an .878 OPS while mashing 35 home runs, driving in 83 runs and swiping 24 stolen bases.
Byron Buxton outplayed his contract in 2025, posting a 6.15 PAP score at a $15.1M salary.
— RosterEconomics (@RosterEconomics) January 12, 2026
His production and salary would interest contenders, but Buxton has been clear he wants to remain in Minnesota, keeping trade conversations largely theoretical. pic.twitter.com/o3M0rbyB9b
That earned him his second career All-Star selection and his first Silver Slugger award.
For a player who has always had the talent but struggled to stay on the field, 2025 was the year everything clicked.
His 4.9 WAR was among the best on the entire team, and he showed that when healthy, he is still one of the most dynamic five-tool players in baseball.
MLB Network ranked him the No. 3 center fielder in the sport heading into the new season, behind only Julio Rodriguez and Wyatt Langford.
What's Ahead in 2026
The Twins finished 2025 with a 70-92 record, their worst mark since 2016, and they enter 2026 with a payroll that sits well below what they have spent in recent years.
New manager Derek Shelton takes over for Rocco Baldelli, and the front office kept core pieces like Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez alongside Buxton, which at least signals some level of commitment to competing rather than a full teardown.
Byron Buxton and Pablo López are projected to lead the way for the @Twins come #OpeningDay 😤 pic.twitter.com/0mriYHPFgL
— MLB (@MLB) February 13, 2026
Buxton understands where the team stands, and he wants to be part of the solution.
He talked about how the veteran players need to lead the younger guys and show them how to play the game the right way as the organization tries to turn things around.
With three years left on his contract at $15 million per season, Buxton is not going anywhere, and after the year he just had, there is every reason to believe he can be the anchor of this next chapter for the Twins.
If the front office follows through on keeping the group together and building around their star center fielder, Buxton believes the path forward is a lot simpler than people think.