After initial shock, Twins star Byron Buxton faces roster change head-on

CLEVELAND – Byron Buxton, the longest-tenured Twins player by more than five years, was at home with his three kids Thursday when the roster around him was ripped apart in a series of trade deadline deals.

He did his best to put away his phone, doing his best to keep his mind off all the trades, but it felt like every time he took a peek, there was news about another trade.

“It was heartbreaking,” Buxton said.

Buxton flew to Cleveland after the trade deadline passed Thursday. Injured players typically don’t travel on road trips unless they are on the verge of returning — Buxton (left rib cage inflammation) is eligible to be activated Tuesday at Detroit — but Buxton wanted to be there for his teammates, and the Twins staff thought it was important, too.

Team President Derek Falvey felt compelled to call Buxton on Thursday to chat about the direction of the organization. Manager Rocco Baldelli met with Buxton privately.

The 31-year-old All-Star center fielder is having his best season in years, and the team chose to take a step back competitively and ship off 10 major league players. Buxton, whose contract contains a no-trade clause, reiterated he wants to be a Twin for the rest of his career.

“Nothing’s changed,” Buxton said. “It’s just part of baseball. It’s the business side of it. Just because we go through these tough roads or whatever, it is what it is. We’ll be better once we get on the other end of it and figure things out a little bit more. The end of the season we’ll talk a little bit more, but I ain’t going nowhere.”

Buxton’s presence, multiple players said, was reassuring. They wanted to see how he was responding to it all. After shortstop Carlos Correa waived his no-trade clause to return to Houston, Buxton told them he had their backs and he was happy for the guys who were called up.

“Having him here is huge, for sure,” right fielder Matt Wallner said. “Having that leader definitely helps. It’d be great to have him in the game. At least he’s here. That gives us some sense of normal. If he wasn’t here, it would be ‘Wow, this is different.’ It’s obviously different. I’m just glad Buck’s here.”

Buxton admits he is still processing the trades himself — “I don’t know who has processed it,” he said. He chatted with Twins broadcaster Justin Morneau after the trade deadline.

Morneau, the 2006 American League MVP, spent 11 seasons with the Twins before he was traded to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline in 2013. Those conversations, Buxton said, helped keep him in the right headspace.

“It was very helpful,” Buxton said. “[Morneau] was here. Got traded and he didn’t want to be traded. It was just one of those things where he just told me I’ve got an opportunity to kind of change the culture here. I take that to heart a little bit because that’s who I am. Like I said, I ain’t going nowhere.”

Buxton debuted in 2015 in a lineup that featured Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, Eddie Rosario and Trevor Plouffe. He’s been the bridge between a few different Twins eras.

“He’s part of our fabric,” Falvey said. “He wants to make it better. He knows there are some good young talent on its way. It’s hard for him. It was teammates, it was brothers, it was people that are in that clubhouse” who are now gone.

It says something to people inside the organization, though, when Buxton remains committed to being a part of the next Twins group after a massive roster change.