After a healthy offseason, Byron Buxton entering Twins camp with ‘whole new mindset’

Byron Buxton spoke with glee as he mentioned the running, hitting, throwing and weight room workouts he did all winter. It may have sounded like a typical offseason by most players’ standards, but that is the whole point.

The Twins center fielder, for the first time in several years, finally had a pain-free offseason. No surgeries. No rehab exercises. No physical therapy appointments.

“Instead of being here, I’m here,” said Buxton, raising his right hand from eye level to above his head. “It’s more my mentality — not even physical. Physically, I’m wonderful, but mentally it puts you in a whole new mindset.”

When Buxton arrived at spring training last year, ahead of the 2024 season, there were questions about whether he could handle playing center field again. It drew headlines when the former Platinum Glove award winner stood out there for defensive drills. He went more than 500 days without playing the position in a Twins game.

Now, he’s looking to build off a solid season. He hit .279 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, 56 RBI and 62 runs in 102 games, the most games he played in a season in seven years.

Pitchers and catchers report to Twins spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., on Thursday.

“Seeing him go out there and play a lot of baseball with a smile on his face most days, figuring out a pregame plan and a routine that is working well for him was really great to see,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

“I don’t really set goals as far as [games played] in my head, but if he’s playing most days for us, we end up winning a lot. Like, it’s not magic. He does that.”

The Twins plan to give Buxton occasional off days like they did last season, part of the reason why they wanted to sign free agent center fielder Harrison Bader. Buxton still had two stints on the injured list in 2024 — he missed a couple of weeks in May with right knee inflammation and about a month near the end of the season with right hip inflammation — but he finally felt like himself again.

One year after Buxton was used exclusively as a designated hitter because of the pain in his right knee, he started 87 games in center. He generated 3.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs’ calculations. There were six center fielders who totaled a higher WAR, and they all played at least 40 more games than him.

“I don’t want to say nothing too crazy but building off [last season] and making sure I get 50-60 more at-bats, that helps it keep growing,” said Buxton, who had a .936 OPS over 62 games between his two stints on the injured list last year. “The little bitty goals to try to help me get to that big end goal.”

After the final game of the season last year, a bitter end following the club’s collapse out of a playoff spot, Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey walked up to Buxton’s locker in the clubhouse. Falvey brought up how many innings Buxton played in the outfield and told him, “It’s been a lot of years for you grinding through some tough moments. You should be proud of what you got through this year.”

“He’s really an inspiring player,” Baldelli said. “He’s a guy that all the players on the team look to because all his emotion is really directed towards the team and his teammates. He can really get guys in a good mental head space, and he makes people smile. It’s exciting watching him play, even for his teammates.”

There is still some lingering frustration with the way last season ended. Buxton, who is owed $60 million over the next four seasons, tried to help the Twins stave off their late-season meltdown once he returned in mid-September, skipping a rehab assignment. He had 15 hits in 50 at-bats (.300 batting average) when the Twins had trouble producing any type of offense. It wasn’t enough.

“Not happy with how it ended, but that’s something that built motivation for me to go into the offseason to make sure that don’t happen again,” Buxton said. “You still feel it because we controlled our destiny, and we let that get away from us.”

A healthy offseason will result in a much different type of camp for Buxton. Last year, he was running in front of trainers to prove his knee was responding well throughout the first few weeks. Twins head trainer Nick Paparesta visited him at his home in Georgia to check on him earlier this winter.

“This is probably the healthiest offseason he’s had,” Falvey said.

Baldelli added: “When he wasn’t out there [in 2024], that was something we had a tough time replacing. Let’s get him out there as much as we can, and we’ll be OK.”

Buxton, 31, plans to report to Fort Myers a few days ahead of the Twins’ first full-squad workout. All players typically have the itch to start the season once February rolls around, but there is an added excitement for him.

“Just knowing how much I done worked this offseason, not just because it’s normal, but to put myself in a better position to be better,” he said, “that’s what I’m ready for.”

Thursday: First pitchers and catchers workout.

Monday, Feb. 17: First full-squad workout.

Feb. 22: Twins face Atlanta in Grapefruit League opener at Hammond Stadium.

March 27: Opening Day in St. Louis. First pitch is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.