Padres Tried to Trade for $100 Million All-Star, Gold Glove Outfielder at Deadline: Report

A trade is like a butterfly; all will experience many different phases in their life cycle before they can spread their wings and fly. Many eggs are laid. Few will hatch and become caterpillars.

It isn't clear if the trade talks that would have resulted in Byron Buxton becoming a San Diego Padre ever got off the ground. But there was a call, accoring to Dennis Lin of The Athletic — the first step necessary for a trade proposal to fully mature.

This will surprise no one who’s followed A.J. Preller’s career, but the Padres were one of the teams that called about Buxton. https://t.co/ovgXbOSSb5
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 5, 2025

Other teams called about Buxton to no avail. According to The Athletic's Dan Hayes, the group included the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets, and "at least" four other clubs.

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The terms of Buxton's seven-year, $100 million contract include a clause that requires his permission to be traded. If Buxton was unwilling to waive the no-trade clause last week, when the Twins effectively held a fire sale of most of their best players, it might never happen. He has three seasons left on the incentive-laden contract after this year.

Buxton, 31, is in the midst of what might end up as the best of his 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. His 59 RBIs are already a career-high. His 183 total bases (in just 85 games through Wednesday) are eight shy of his personal best.

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In addition to possessing a .282/.343/.561 slash line, Buston remains an elite defensive center fielder and baserunner. He's 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts.

Buxton also possesses a lengthy injury history. He played 140 games in 2017, racking up a 5-WAR season that resulted in his winning a Gold Glove Award. In the seven seasons that followed, Buxton played only 494 of a possible 1,032 games.

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Despite undergoing multiple surgical procedures on his right knee, Buxton is thriving at the most demanding defensive position in the outfield. He's a plus-4 fielder in center, according to Statcast's Outs Above Average metric.

Any trade for Buxton in advance of last Thursday's deadline would have represented the ultimate case of buying high. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller showed no hesitation in dealing shortstop Leo de Vries, the No. 3 prospect in baseball, for A's closer Mason Miller.

But Preller was unable to pry Buxton away from the Twins. Maybe that's because the Twins' asking price was too high. Maybe that's because the Twins asked Buxton if he would accept a trade to San Diego, and he simply said no. Buxton said he would do as much, when asked about his no-trade clause at the MLB All-Star Game last month.

In any event, Buxton is locked in to the Twins' rebuilding process, while the Padres are going for a championship without him.

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