Souhan: If Twins trade Byron Buxton, they’d get a haul, but they couldn’t replace him

The Timberwolves want a new arena.

They need to get in line.

If the Twins trade Byron Buxton — and perhaps Joe Ryan — they will desperately need a new ballpark.

One that is much smaller.

Maybe they could play at Siebert Field, or on a townball diamond. They won’t be able to fill the third row of wooden bleachers with fans, but think of how close, in such a place, you’ll be able to get to players you don’t know.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported this week that Buxton is willing to waive the no-trade clause in his contract. This development could give us a final answer on whether the Twins are trying to contend in the next couple of years.

Thus far, Twins’ management has avoided admitting that they are in a full rebuild mode. They have been able to avoid saying so because they have a number of top-flight players on their roster, including Buxton, Ryan and Pablo López.

At the time, much of the public worried that the money was being wasted on a player who couldn’t stay healthy. That was a rational view, and he played in fewer than 100 games in 2022 and 2023.

That he has been healthier the last two seasons means that he is currently the Twins’ most valuable player and that he is much easier to trade.

Buxton has three years and about $45 million remaining on his deal. I believe the Twins shouldn’t trade him now for the same reason I thought they should sign him to a long-term contract: because they are rarely in a position to acquire a player of Buxton’s talent.

They aren’t going to sign such a player in free agency. They’ll always get outbid. And they rarely wind up with a top-two pick in a draft in which players like Carlos Correa and Buxton are available, and top draft picks in baseball don’t always pan out.

If you’re trying to win a World Series, you need a few exceptional players around which to build. Buxton, when healthy, is an exceptional player.

Because Buxton is a star player making a reasonable salary, the Twins can ask for a lot in a trade, and they’d probably get a lot. Trading Buxton would allow the Twins to add to their wealth of top prospects.

And if the Twins were willing to trade Buxton, then they would likely be willing to trade Ryan, who is coming off his best season and made just $6 million last year. He’s a tremendous value.

Here’s another angle to this development:

If Buxton doesn’t want to play for the Twins anymore, they have no choice but to trade him. The same is true for Ryan.

If you’re going to rebuild with young players, you don’t want a disgruntled veteran, especially one viewed as a leader, hanging around your clubhouse.

Ryan is brasher and could be a visible and audible problem if he’s not happy with the direction of the team.

I want the Twins to keep both, because I like baseball and want to have a reason to go to Target Field this summer. But if you’re going to rebuild, trading both of them makes a sickening sort of sense.

Passan broke the news about Buxton at a time when ridiculous rumors are circulating about the Timberwolves.

Let this be a lesson to the information-seeking fan.

Passan is the kind of reporter you can trust.

We can trust this information on Buxton. If you’re believing social media posts about the Timberwolves trading for Kevin Durant right now, you’re swimming in a lake of lies.