The Philadelphia Phillies need to make some moves at this year’s trade deadline, but they’ve only got enough prospect capital for one major splash. It would be wise to push all of their chips in for a game-changing hitter to augment a lineup that could use some lengthening. The premier bat on this year’s trade market could be Byron Buxton, but in order to get the Minnesota Twins to lighten up and move him, the Phillies may need to overpay. The Twins swear they won't. But ... that resolve should be tested.
Buxton came into professional baseball with massive expectations as the second overall pick of the 2012 draft. The consensus top prospect in the sport made his big league debut three years later and after a few rough seasons at the beginning, broke through with a tremendous .262/.314/.513 slash line in 2019. Since that time Buxton has been one of the best outfielders in all of baseball, slashing .258/.320/.539 with 165 homers and 78 steals across 2,668 plate appearances.
While the 32-year-old’s talent can never be called into question, his availability certainly can be considering he’s topped 100 games played in just three out of his 12 seasons at the big league level. Fortunately, the two-time All-Star has remained healthy thus far in 2026, appearing in 73 of the Twins’ 85 contests. He’s been his usual self, posting a tremendous .898 OPS over 329 trips to the plate, crushing an American League-leading 25 dingers along the way.
Buxton’s five-tool talent and team-friendly seven-year, $100 million contract (of which two years remain past the current one) make him the crown jewel of a 40-45 Twins team that will likely be forced to sell once more this summer. However, there are a few speedbumps along the road to a Buxton trade. First and foremost, Buxton himself. The Georgia native made his position clear, telling reporters, “I ain't said nothing about leaving, nor will I. I'm a Twin."
Minnesota general manager Jeremy Zoll toed the same line a week ago, stating, “We have no plans to trade Byron. It’s not something we’re exploring. It’s not something we plan to explore.” Considering the fact that Buxton owns a full no-trade clause and his club seems to have no interest in dealing him even if he would waive it, what’s the point in speculating about a trade? Well, that’s simple; everyone has a price.
Byron Buxton would be the difference-maker the Phillies need
The Phillies are a cornered animal. Their longtime core of Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler is aging rapidly. Despite recent breakouts from younger players like Cristopher Sánchez and Brandon Marsh, there is no youth movement on the way to extend the club’s competitive window.
Years of poor drafting and even worse development have led to the next generation of homegrown Phillies failing to develop into stars, putting even more pressure onto the high-priced mercenaries brought in through free agency to capture a World Series.
The effects of that roster construction are currently being felt, as Schwarber, Harper, Sánchez and a few others have done practically all of the heavy lifting to get the Phils back into contention this season, and an injury or drop off from just one or two of them could send the whole sandcastle toppling down.
The time for the Phillies to win a championship is right now and fading fast, and they need to do everything they can to maximize their chances of getting the job done this year or next. There’s no guarantee the squad will remain competitive in two or three years’ time.
To that end, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski needs to be willing to pull out all the stops in trade talks. The thought of clearing out a farm system that’s already pretty thin is a scary one, and the poor performance and rotten luck of their top echelon of prospects has made what little ammunition they do have worth even less. However, there may be just enough in the cupboard to make the Twins an offer they can’t refuse.
What would a Phillies overpay for Twins' Byron Buxton look like?
So what would such an offer look like? The headliner would need to be a youngster with franchise-altering potential. Phillies fans may scoff, but 23-year-old hurler Andrew Painter still possesses just that. The former top pitching prospect in all of baseball has looked like a shell of his former self since returning from Tommy John surgery last year, and he was blasted for a 7.06 ERA in 14 major league games this season, but the potential is still there.
Painter wouldn’t be the first struggling prospect to benefit from a reset after a brutal start to his career (look no further than Roy Halladay), and can certainly still become the top-of-the-rotation arm the Phillies dream of if all goes right. If the Twins accept him as the centerpiece, the rest of the package falls into place from there.
Next up going to Minnesota is a ready-made centerfield replacement in Justin Crawford. The 2022 first-round pick broke camp with the Phillies this season, and while he’s largely failed to impress thus far, he also hasn’t looked completely lost in the majors either. At just 22 years old, it’s fair to assume that Crawford can still turn into the top-flight leadoff hitter his father was in due time.
The Phillies would need to continue scratching the Twins’ itch for future impact arms, and could further entice them with fireballing right-hander Gage Wood. The College World Series legend has rocketed up prospect rankings after being selected 26th overall last July by working to a 3.67 ERA with 74 strikeouts across 15 minor league games. The 22-year-old’s dominance has landed in Double-A to this point, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could make an impact in the bigs as soon as this year.
Last but not least is 20-year-old righty Ramon Marquez. An unheralded international free agent signing out of Mexico, Marquez has broken out with a marvelous 2.08 ERA over 39 innings pitched this year in the low minors, and profiles as a potentially solid major league starter a few years down the line.
That four-piece package may be just enough to get the Twins to loosen their grip on a franchise icon, and the Phillies could entice Buxton to waive his no-trade rights by offering him a chance to compete for a World Series. Now, with all of that being said, this would be the win-now move of all win-now moves. Parting with four of the Phillies’ top young players would stripmine an already shaky farm system. If this deal went through, they would have almost nothing left to trade for reinforcements at other areas of need.
Conveniently, the Twins could also help with that. If Minnesota decided to deal Buxton, that would signal a waiving of the white flag on the 2026 season. With that being the case, they’d have no reason to hang onto power-hitting catcher Ryan Jeffers who will be a free agent at season’s end. Lump him into the package heading back to Philadelphia, as well as an okay relief option akin to Anthony Banda (but, you know, healthy), and the Phillies have killed three birds with one stone.
If the Phillies could manage to reel in a true heart of the order bat like Byron Buxton, as well as some catching insurance for the declining J.T. Realmuto and a decent bullpen arm, they just might have what it takes to hang in there against juggernauts like the Los Angeles Dodgers come October. Mortgaging the future for a present that isn’t guaranteed is a risky proposition, but the Phillies don’t have very much time left to win with this core, and an all-in wager like this one may finally get them across the finish line.
Add us as a preferred source on Google