Nobody on the Minnesota Twins has more superstar potential than Byron Buxton. That’s something nearly all Twins fans, and general baseball fans, agree on when the All-Star Gold Glover is healthy. Buxton has a career .239/.300/.468 slash line with 115 home runs in nine seasons. Since 2020, Buxton has produced a 130 wRC+ with 77 home runs in that span.
Buxton is one of the best all-around players in baseball when healthy. The health qualifier isn’t Buxton’s fault, just more of the reality of the injuries that have impacted his big-league career. The Twins have tried everything from coaching up his pursuit paths to avoid the wall crashes to giving him extended rest and using him as a designated hitter. Ultimately, he hasn’t played a game in center field in the 2023 regular season to keep him healthy.
Before this season, fans and analysts floated the idea that the team should add a credible backup center fielder to play behind Buxton and be ready to fill in for multi-game stretches. The Twins have used multiple understudies in center field over the years. Gilberto Celestino (career 73 wRC+), Nick Gordon (92 wRC+), and Jake Cave (89 wRC+) make up most of the starts when Buxton is out of the lineup. Even Max Kepler has filled in, and he’s a capable center fielder. But it put the team out of position with one of those backup center fielders playing the corner spot instead.
That idea of having a serviceable understudy for Buxton sounds simple in theory, but it was going to be challenging. For one, the Twins have signed Buxton through the 2028 season with a full no-trade clause until 2026. The relationship between Buxton and the team is still vital, and the Twins shouldn’t try to replace Buxton. Instead, they should complement him with someone who shares a similar skill set. That way, Buxton can return to play on his own timeline and Minnesota can maintain good defensive play.
Minnesota’s solve in the offseason was to trade for 2021 Gold Glove winner Michael A. Taylor.
Taylor brings the added veteran depth that became Minnesota’s offseason theme. The ten-year veteran won a Gold Glove with the Kansas City Royals and a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals in 2019 to amass 605 starts in center field coming into the season. Taylor was expected to be a platoon bat and fill-in for Buxton when needed until Buxton became the DH this season.
Taylor became a full-time starter and a pillar as the No. 9 hitter in manager Rocco Baldelli’s lineup. He took his time and made the most of it by having one of the best seasons of his career. He has a .223/.277/.440 slash line with a 93 OPS+ and a career-high 20 home runs while swiping 13 bases. Taylor also appeared in 125 games this season. That’s still nowhere near the production a healthy Buxton could total. But it’s enough to help the Twins get by in Buxton’s absence with a player who can do the same things he does on a smaller scale.
Bringing in Taylor allows the Twins to keep their corner outfielders in their more natural spots. Kepler could stay in right field, and the Twins didn’t have to rush up a Celestino or stretch Gordon out of position. Taylor’s plus-8 outs above average in center are tied for 10th among all center fielders, along with a .990 fielding percentage with an assist this year.
Buxton is working to return to the team by the postseason. If that can’t happen, the Twins still have Taylor to roam center field. It’s important because Buxton wasn’t able to play in the 2019 postseason, which meant Kepler needed to slide over to center, and Cave played in right field. Taylor’s presence gives them a better defensive outfield. Even if Buxton could come back and play center field, playing Taylor in a corner outfield spot or pinch runner in a late-game situation would greatly bolster Minnesota’s depth in October.
Adding Taylor allowed the Twins to get decent center-field production with Buxton out. However, it seems like Minnesota has another option with Willi Castro’s emergence. Minnesota brought Castro in as a minor league free agent and depth signing, and the utility man has played all around the field. He has appearances at every position but catcher and first base this season. Castro appeared in 43 games in center field, making 27 starts there. Like Taylor, Castro had one of his best offensive seasons by hitting .252/.326/.413 with nine home runs and a career-high 2.1 fWAR. At 26, Castro appears to have clicked at the big-league level in his fifth big-league season.
Castro isn’t at the same level as Taylor in center field despite having a career year at the plate. However, Taylor is an impending free agent who will be 33 years old on Opening Day next season. Bringing Taylor back on a one-year deal would make sense for the Twins. After a good season, Taylor will likely want to leverage that in the offseason to earn a multi-year deal. That’s something the Twins likely wouldn’t do because Castro could potentially fill that role under team control through 2025.
There are more potential backup center field options waiting in the minors, too. Celestino spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, hitting a .781 OPS with his first chance to develop in the high minors after being rushed into big league action early in his career. Austin Martin bounced back from a poor 2022 to post a .781 OPS in 59 games for St. Paul. Both are still unproven. But if either one steps up, it adds another option for the Twins as a backup center fielder next season.
Buxton’s injuries aren’t his fault. Still, it’s incredibly unfortunate how much Buxton’s health has impacted his career, given its potential. However, the Twins needed to address the possibility of Buxton needing a credible understudy to play center field. Taylor and Castro, to a lesser extent, have provided the Twins with enough production to mask the loss of one of their best players.
