Every time Byron Buxton picked up his phone Thursday afternoon, there was a text message or news ping that one of his Minnesota Twins teammates was being traded.
Two days later, Buxton was still trying to take in all the moves the Twins made as the front office made nine trades and turned over nearly 40% of the roster.
Even though the All-Star center fielder is on the 10-day injured list with left ribcage inflammation, Buxton joined the Twins in Cleveland for this weekend's series as the franchise's clubhouse leader wanted to be there to provide support and be a sounding board for teammates.
“I mean, trading nine guys like that is something that’s not normal, so it was a little bit of a shock for sure,” Buxton said before Saturday's game. “Right now, obviously, I haven’t processed it. I don’t know who has processed it, but something we’ll talk about a little bit more at the end of the season.”
There's no question that all the moves that took place last week leaves Buxton - and a handful of other veterans - as team leaders, needing to set the tone and lay the tracks for young players, in many cases getting their first extended time in the big leagues.
"Yeah, I embrace it," Buxton begins. "I got Joe (Ryan), I got Pablo (Lopez), it's a few other guys. (Ryan) Jeffers, Vasky's (Christian Vazquez) still here. It's some guys that I can kind of still lean on to give me that help throughout the season. Obviously I'm not a pitcher, so I gotta have a leader there to kind of communicate and figure out if somebody's struggling or whatever. And how to talk to them, how to go about the business, how to approach them. Everybody's different, so I definitely embrace it, but it's just something that, I think it's a challenge and it's gonna be fun for me."
Manager Rocco Baldelli said that having Buxton on the trip was important, not only for the support that he can give, but also because he remains on track to rejoin the lineup on Wednesday when the Twins are at Detroit.
“Keeping him with our trainers here and being able to get on the field here with the group when he’s ready was important, but also the support that he’s going to be giving the guys around him. Everybody looks to him, everyone looks to see how he’ll respond to things, and he’s a passionate guy. He cares about his teammates and his team and guys respect him immensely.”
Buxton adds that it's a chance to get some of the new players comfortable.
"Just wanna be be normal, like obviously it's been a been a tough couple of days," Buxton explains.
Buxton said he understands that baseball is a business and he anticipated moves were going to be made near the deadline. However, the amount of turnover was surprising. But he stood by his pre-trade deadline comments that he's committed to remaining a Minnesota Twin.
"It is what it is," he said. "Like, we'll be better once we get on the other end of it and figure things out a little bit more. Like I said, we'll talk a little bit more, but I ain't going nowhere."
The Twins' most-significant move near the deadline was when shortstop Carlos Correa was dealt to Houston. Correa broke into the majors with the Astros and still has a house in Houston as he waived his no-trade clause.
“It’s one of those things where you didn’t think he was going to leave but with the opportunity that was ahead of him and just him being an Astro before, it’s hard to pass that up in his situation. I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. It is what’s best for him,” Buxton said about Correa.
While there are a lot of unknowns about the Twins as the team remains for sale, Buxton is trying to focus on the present. That includes making sure the new faces on the team can get acclimated quickly as well as trying to make sure the season doesn't spiral too much out of control.
"Still got baseball to play, you know. These guys in here, they come up for a reason," Buxton says. 'And to be able to have the opportunity that they have in front of them is something that can be done about, you gotta be positive, and I'm happy for the guys that's in here. Something for us to build off of and work on leading up to, you know, next year."
Minnesota won the AL Central in 2023, but missed the playoffs with an 82-80 mark last season. The Twins (51-59) are eight games under .500 and on a four-game losing streak after Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Guardians.
“These guys coming up, I don’t want them to look at this as ‘I finally got a shot.’ You came up here because you want to win and you want to be better. So it’s just playing together and having each other’s backs is going to be the biggest thing going forward,” he said.
What is left to work with? There's clearly talent, starting with Buxton. The Twins played relatively well in Cleveland even though they lost two of three.
"I still think there's a lot of talent here," notes Dan Hayes of the Athletic. "Royce Lewis is still here. Byron Buxton should be back maybe this week in Detroit. Luke Keaschall's going to be here. Pablo Lopez is coming back. Joe Ryan's having a fantastic season. Byron Buxton's having a fantastic season. There are still really interesting things."
The question might end up in the bullpen, where trading Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Brock Stewart and Louie Varland really decimated the back end of the pitching staff. That was evident in late-inning losses to the Guardians both Friday and Saturday.
"They've played really well in Cleveland," Hayes added. "Clearly figuring out the end of games is going to be very tricky, and that's where they're not going to be able to pull off victories, I think. The 9th, 8th, 7th innings can be challenging obviously when you decimate your bullpen like that, but there's a lot of stuff to watch."
Minnesota Twins (52-59, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Detroit Tigers (65-48, first in the AL Central)
Detroit; Monday, 5:40 p.m. Pregame at 5:00 p.m. on 830 WCCO and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.24 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 69 strikeouts); Tigers: Casey Mize (9-4, 3.43 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 84 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -161, Twins +135; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers will try to keep a four-game home win streak going when they take on the Minnesota Twins.
Detroit has a 36-21 record in home games and a 65-48 record overall. The Tigers are 48-16 in games when they record at least eight hits.
Minnesota is 22-35 on the road and 52-59 overall. The Twins have gone 26-46 in games when they have given up a home run.
Monday's game is the seventh time these teams meet this season. The Tigers have a 4-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gleyber Torres has 13 home runs, 55 walks and 54 RBIs while hitting .276 for the Tigers. Dillon Dingler is 11 for 34 with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs over the past 10 games.
Trevor Larnach has 15 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 46 RBIs for the Twins. Matt Wallner is 7 for 30 with a triple, three home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 5-5, .257 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
Twins: 3-7, .223 batting average, 5.40 ERA, outscored by 26 runs
INJURIES: Tigers: Paul Sewald: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Reese Olson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Parker Meadows: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Sean Guenther: 60-Day IL (hip), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 15-Day IL (neck), Jackson Jobe: 60-Day IL (flexor), Jason Foley: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Cobb: 60-Day IL (hip), Ty Madden: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alex Lange: 60-Day IL (lat)
Twins: Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (side soreness), Anthony Misiewicz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.