The Philadelphia Phillies are making a hard push to trade for Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton.
The Philadelphia Phillies may not go quietly into the night after all.
Sure, their first move of trade deadline day was to acquire a minor-league reliever from the Pirates, but it would appear they’re ramping up for something much bigger.
The Minnesota Twins, who are among the biggest sellers this week, have already sent José Berríos to the Toronto Blue Jays, and are still dangling players with less than two hours left before the deadline. According to MLB Insider Mark Feinsand, the Twins are making Michael Pineda, Hansel Robles, Tyler Duffey, Josh Donaldson, and Byron Buxton available before the 4 PM EST deadline. Jon Heyman reports that the Twins are listening to offers on Kenta Maeda.
Philadelphia has been linked to Buxton for a while now, but it wasn’t certain that the Twins would even make him available this season. The oft-injured Gold Glove outfielder would be an amazing fit for the Phillies if he could stay healthy.
Buxton has only played in 27 games for the Twins this season, but was hitting .369/.409/.767 with a 1.176 OPS, 11 doubles, 10 homers, and 19 RBI in 110 plate appearances. He suffered a hand fracture from getting hit by a pitch in late June. He is expected to return at some point in August, and could give the Phillies a major boost both offensively and defensively.
It’s worth noting that MLB Network named the Phillies as a Buxton frontrunner on Friday afternoon. Of course, the Phillies have competition for Buxton; per Jon Heyman, they are reportedly one of “6/7 teams” who have spoken to the Twins about him.
The Phillies are also talking to the Rangers about pitching.
Pineda would also be a solid starting rotation addition, but the Phillies probably don’t have as much to offer the Twins as some of their competition.
There’s also an interesting three-team trade proposal floating around that would send Alec Bohm to the Twins, Spencer Howard to the Rangers, and give the Phillies Buxton, Donaldson, Kyle Gibson, and Ian Kennedy.
With less than 90 minutes until the deadline, the chaos and intrigue only intensify.
Phillies Trade Rumors: 3 Twins Players to Target
Outfielder Byron Buxton, and pitchers Michael Pineda and Alex Colomé are three Twins the Phillies should consider targeting at the MLB Trade Deadline.