The Minnesota Twins have agreed on an extension with outfielder Byron Buxton. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the deal will pay him up to $100 million over the next seven seasons.
Buxton will get $9 million in the first year of the deal and his salary will increase to $15 million for each of the final six years. Rosenthal also reports that Buxton’s contract carries a bonus if he finishes in the top ten of American League Most Valuable Player voting along with bonuses for plate appearances.
More details:
$1M signing bonus.
2022 salary-$9M
2023-28-$15M per seasonMVP bonuses, believed to be unprecedented, for every year of deal.
1st-$8M
2nd-$7M
3rd-$6M
4th-$5M
5th-$4M
6th-through-10th: $3MAlso: $500K each for 502, 533, 567, 600 and 625 plate appearances. https://t.co/leTEjfa4wR
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 28, 2021
Buxton’s negotiations were complicated due to his inability to stay on the field. The soon-to-be 28-year-old has played in over 100 games just once during his career but was coming off a season where he set career-highs in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and home runs.
The Twins also benefitted greatly when Buxton was in the lineup, posting a 209-146 (.588 winning percentage) record over the past four seasons when he played. When Buxton missed time, the Twins posted a record of 164-189 (.465).
With Buxton locked in long-term, the Twins next task is to find pitching on the free-agent market. But that task could be complicated by the looming possibility of a lockout, which would begin on Dec. 2.
