Byron Buxton Snubbed in AL MVP Voting

The Minnesota Twins were never going to have an MVP winner this season. The American League race came down to a battle between record-breaking catcher Cal Raleigh, and superstar outfielder Aaron Judge. New York’s slugger unsurprisingly came out on top, but it was Byron Buxton who lost locally.

Because Byron Buxton has had an injury-plagued career prior to his contract extension, he bet on himself and baked in multiple achievable incentives. Having just completed the best season of his career, MVP votes were sure to come in. Unfortunately they fell short of a payday.

11th place MVP finish costs MN Twins superstar

After a 5.0 fWAR season, and 126 games resulting in a 136 OPS+, award season became something to watch for Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton. He picked up his first Silver Slugger, but his 11th place MVP finish put him short of another payday.

Of course the most notable thing that stands out here is the 17-to-13 first-place finish in favor of Judge over Raleigh. Yes, the outfielder’s 10.1 fWAR trumped the catchers 9.1 fWAR this season. However, Raleigh posted 60 home runs, did it as a switch hitter, and also was a constant behind the plate.

In Twins Territory though, it’s the snub of Byron Buxton that hurts. He has previously finished 18th and 16th in MVP voting, so this is a jump. A 10th place finish would have earned him an additional $3 million this season due to contract incentives. No one is likely celebrating that not coming to fruition more than the Pohlads.

Named on 14-of-30 ballots, Buxton finished just two points shy of 10th place. He had the 9th highest fWAR among hitters this season across the American League, and cleared Rays rookie Junior Caminero. Caminero hit 45 home runs to Buxton’s 35, and the Astros Jeremy Pena finished with 5.7 fWAR.

THE HOME RUN THAT COMPLETED BYRON BUXTON'S CYCLE!!!! pic.twitter.com/bhFUoSYDaT

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 12, 2025

BBWAA member Manolo Hernández-Douen of beisbolporgotas (San Francisco coverage) was the difference after inexplicably handing Caminero a third place vote. Not one of the other 29 voters had Caminero above sixth. Buxton earned three seventh-place votes, while all of Pena’s votes fell in the 8th-10th range.

Buxton’s three seventh-place votes came from Houston writer Chandler Rome, as well as Minnesota writers Betsy Helfand and Phil Miller. He did not earn votes from the Baltimore, Boston (Peter Abraham), Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Angels), Seattle, Tampa Bay, or Toronto (Keegan Matheson) contingent.

What the Twins do with Byron Buxton this offseason remains to be seen. He has made it clear he wants to stay in Minnesota. The Pohlads and Derek Falvey seem to be trying their luck to see how far they can test his loyalty.