Byron Buxton’s latest hardware makes the Twins’ choice pretty clear: keep him in center field.
The Minnesota Twins recently announced the recipients of the 2026 Diamond Awards, which are voted on each year by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and the Minnesota Twins Community Fund Board of Directors. Buxton came away with two of them, including the Jim Kaat Award for Twins Defensive Player of the Year. He also took home the Bob Allison Award, which is “given to the Twins player who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field.”
That recognition arrived even though Buxton was a non-factor in the second half of the season. A hip issue limited him to three IL stints and eventually led to surgery, though he should be ready for Opening Day.
And that matters, because it undercuts the idea that Buxton should simply be parked at designated hitter full time from here on out. Yes, the injury history is real. But so is the fact that he remains one of the Twins’ best defensive players.
Buxton, 32, is still elite in center more than a decade into his MLB career. This year, he posted +2 Defensive Runs Saved and +3 Outs Above Average across 597 2/3 innings in center field.
Minnesota also has a crowded outfield picture to sort through next season, with Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall all needing regular at-bats if everyone is healthy at the same time. Buxton is the oldest of that group, and the easy answer might be to shift him to DH full time. But the Twins have already seen that route doesn’t solve everything.
In 2023, Minnesota made Buxton a full-time DH, and it didn’t go smoothly. He still had trouble staying on the field, appearing in just 85 games, and his offense lagged too, as he hit .207/.294/.438 with a 96 wRC+.
The Twins could still use Buxton at DH here and there in 2027, just as they did this past season. But if the question is whether he belongs in the outfield regularly, the answer is yes. The risk may rise the more he plays there, but Buxton has already shown he’s injury-prone either way, and his defensive value is too strong to leave on the table.
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