Byron

Buxton

The Kevin Kelly offering hit him near his back elbow. X-rays were negative, though as we saw with Jordan Lawlar, that’s not necessarily everything. James Outman replaced him as a pinch-runner and in center field. He would be his primary replacement if Buxton misses some time.

It was Buxton’s second home run of the spring and was a 403-foot shot off Ranger Suarez. The 32-year-old is coming off a career-best season that saw him play the most games he has since 2017 while hitting 35 home runs and stealing 24 bases. The production was obviously great, but Buxton had not played more than 102 games since 2017 before last year, so he remains a major health risk.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa will turn to Bregman at the hot corner over Gunnar Henderson, who crushed a game-tying solo homer during Sunday’s semifinal win over the Dominican Republic, to face Venezuela lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. The other notable changes here for matchup reasons are Byron Buxton in centerfield over Pete Crow-Armstrong and Will Smith getting another turn at catcher over Cal Raleigh. Here’s the full lineup: Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), Bryce Harper (1B), Aaron Judge (RF), Kyle Schwarber (DH), Bregman (3B), Roman Anthony (LF), Smith (C), Brice Turang (2B) and Buxton (CF).

Buxton was removed from Friday’s contest against Brazil after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. He’s perfectly fine though and will be back in there for Monday’s critical showdown against Mexico.

Buxton appeared to get hit on the back elbow during the fifth inning. He stayed in to run afterwards and then came out in favor of Pete Crow-Armstrong the following inning. This probably won’t prove to be anything significant.

The game was close initially, with the Rockies actually leading 4-3 after four, but Team USA took over from there. Aaron Judge, Alex Bregman, Will Smith and Paul Goldschmidt also homered for the U.S. Buxton opened the game on the bench in favor of Pete Crow-Armstrong, who went 2-for-3 with two steals, but it seems like he’ll be Mark DeRosa’s primary choice in center field during the tournament.

Buxton’s presence has been assumed for months, but the confirmation took quite a while. He’s set to be joined by Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll and Pete Crow-Armstrong in the Team USA outfield, so it’ll be interesting to see how that sets up. PCA probably should be in there against righties, with Buxton starting in center against lefties and coming off the bench.

The expectation was that the Twins would consider the fire sale that they started at the trade deadline, but it appears as though they’re content to hold onto their best assets as they look to reload rather than rebuild for the 2026 season. That could put more pressure on the teams in the market for starting pitching via free agency as now there’s a two fewer quality options available.

Buxton has mentioned publicly that he wants to remain with the Twins, but that he also wants to play for a contender. Hayes specifically mentions that trading away one or both of Joe Ryan or Pablo López could force Buxton to reconsider his desire to stay in Minnesota. Buxton has a full no-trade clause through next season and then can block trades to five teams in 2027 and 2028. He has three years and $45 million remaining on his current deal, so the Twins, who appear to be cutting costs, could be open to moving him and trying to build around a younger roster.

Judge takes home a silver slugger for the fifth time in his career. He joins Byron Buxton and Riley Greene in the outfield in taking home the award. The full list of winners: Cal Raleigh (C), Nick Kurtz (1B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), José Ramírez (3B), Judge (OF), Buxton (OF) and Greene (OF) and George Springer (DH).