SB Nation Minnesota - Byron Buxton Was Welcomed By Twins At Target Field On Tuesday

Minnesota Twins Impressed So Far By Byron Buxton

2012-06-26T12:00:38Z

The Minnesota Twins are impressed by 18-year-old Byron Buxton, their top draft pick, despite the fact that he's yet to get a hit at the professional level.

Buxton is leading off and playing center field for the Golf Coast League Twins and he has flied out in six of his eight at bats in Fort Myers, but his speed and potential have been on display, via Charley Walters of Twincities.com.

"He's just (swinging) a little bit under the ball," Fort Myers manager Ramon Borrego said Saturday, June 23, after his team lost 9-1 to Boston's rookie club.

"But he's very aggressive, he has got a good swing, and I like him because he plays hard."

…

Borrego said he timed the right-handed swinging Buxton on Saturday running to first base (90 feet) in 4.15 seconds after hitting a ground ball to shortstop.

Borrego also commented on Buxton's fielding and his coachability. If he produces in the GCL, he could be promoted to the Twins' higher level rookie league team in Elizabethton, Tennessee for the season's final month.

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Byron Buxton Contract: Twins Give Top Pick $6M Signing Bonus

2012-06-13T22:34:24Z

On Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins announced that the deal with Byron Buxton, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 MILB First-Year Player Draft, included a $6 million signing bonus. The bonus is $200,000 below the recommended amount but was $1.2 million more than the bonus the Houston Astros gave to the No. 1 overall selection, Carlos Correa.

The terms of the contract where not disclosed by the club.

Buxton will likely begin in the Gulf Coast League, with a chance to move up to Rookie-level Elizabethton before the end of the season. He batted .513 with three homeruns, 17 doubles and 35 RBIs in his senior season at Appling County High School (Ga.). He had traveled to Minnesota on Tuesday to undergo a physical, take batting practice and meet some of the team's star players.

Now, the franchise hopes that he will become one of them in the near future.

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Twins Agree To Deal With First Draft Pick, Byron Buxton

2012-06-13T17:36:18Z

The Minnesota Twins were happy to welcome No. 2 overall draft pick Byron Buxton to work out recently, but he took some batting practice without actually being under contract. Now, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, the Twins have completed their deal with Buxton and he's now an official member of the Twins organization.

The batting practice work was actually paired with a physical, so they're good-to-go on that front. According to the piece, the deal is for $6 million, just below the recommended slot for Buxton at No. 2 overall, which is $6.2 million.

"We brought him in to expose him to our Major League coaches, and our manager and our players," Ryan said. "I thought he did quite well out there for a young guy that came up here, 18 years old, not been around the type of caliber that these guys are. I'm proud of that. It was good to see. We didn't want to see balls going up in the cage and so forth. We wanted to see them go out, and that's exactly what he did."

Minnesota is really glad to have Buxton on board, as many figured they were going to take him in the lead-up to the draft. He'll likely begin his professional in the Gulf Coast League, with a chance to move up to Rookie-level Elizabethton before the end of the season. He batted .513 with three homeruns, 17 doubles and 35 RBIs in his senior season at Appling County High School (Ga.).

For more on the Minnesota Twins, check out Twinkie Town. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Byron Buxton Welcomed By Minnesota Twins

2012-06-13T15:00:09Z

Technically, the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft Byron Buxton isn't signed with the Minnesota Twins yet, but he's already being welcomed onto the team by the current players and management. According to Twincities.com, Buxton took a trip up to Minnesota where he met with a couple of the team's current stars and did some hitting practice.

He did well in that practice as well, putting together a couple of nice hits including a home run into the bullpen. General Manager Terry Ryan enjoyed watching Buxton spend some time with the big league guys:

"We brought him in to expose him to our major league coaches and our manager and our players," Ryan said. "I thought he did quite well out there for a young guy that came up here, 18 years old, not (having) been around the type of caliber that these guys are, but (he) did quite well there. I'm proud of that. It was good to see."

The 18 year old should be signed officially on with the Twins some time soon, at which point his baseball career and road to Minnesota can begin. Supposedly, a tentative agreement has already been put into place with Byron.

For more on Byron Buxton and the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more MLB coverage, check out Baseball Nation.

Byron Buxton And Twins Have Tentative Agreement In Place

2012-06-12T03:55:43Z

It looks like Byron Buxton will be officially signed, sealed and delivered to the Minnesota Twins very shortly. Buxton, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has agreed to a tentative agreement with Minnesota, via the St. Paul Pioneer Press' Ben Goessling.

While there are "a few minor details" to be sorted out, the rookie deal should be finalized after the completion of a physical Tuesday. The recommended signing bonus for Buxton's draft slot is $6.2 million, but the details of the agreement remain unknown.

Goessling also reports that the Twins' third round pick, Adam Walker, will receive his recommended signing bonus of $494,400. This came hours after the report that 18-year-old pitcher Jose Berrios had agreed to terms with Minnesota. He is set to receive the recommended $1.55 million signing bonus.

For more on Byron Buxton and the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more MLB coverage, check out Baseball Nation.

Byron Buxton Contract 'Very Close' To Being Finished By Twins

2012-06-11T14:53:05Z

The Minnesota Twins are reportedly closing in on inking their highest draft pick since they selected Joe Mauer in 2001. According to Twincities.com, the Twins and their first round selection Byron Buxton are 'very close' to getting a deal signed to get the outfielder officially into the organization.

Once signed, Buxton is expected to be sent to the Gulf Coast League Twins rookie team, with an eventual move to the higher rookie squad in Elizabethtown if he does well.

A helpful hand with Buxton getting close to signing could be the quickness with which the Houston Astros inked the No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa last week. Though the team denies it will have any sort of impact on their guy, his $4.8 million signing bonus could give the Twins ideas as to how much to ink Buxton for.

For more on Byron Buxton and the Minnesota Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more MLB coverage, check out Baseball Nation.

No. 2 Overall Pick Byron Buxton Will Reportedly Take Physical Monday For Twins

2012-06-10T19:18:29Z

It looks to be only a matter of time before high school outfielder Byron Buxton's contract negotiations wrap up. According to a report by the Star Tribune's Joe Christensen, the Twins are planning to bring Buxton in for a physical on Monday.

Despite the fact that No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa signed for $2.4 million less than the recommended signing bonus based on his slot, the Twins don't appear likely to get off with a similar discount for the flashy five-tool outfielder. Buxton's recommended bonus is $6.2 million, and Minnesota's organization knew immediately when it selected him that he would certainly command that type of a deal.

Once the formalities are sorted out and Buxton passes his physical, it's expected that the Twins will put the finishing touches on everything and announce a deal in the coming days. Seeing as how Minnesota is currently riding a four-game winning streak and looks like a much-improved team on the field, the upcoming week might just be filled with a bunch good news for Minnesota baseball fans.

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Carlos Correa Contract Shouldn't Effect Twins Negotiations With Byron Buxton

2012-06-08T19:34:10Z

When the Houston Astros came to terms with Carlos Correa, the No. 1 overall draft selection in this week's First-Year Player Draft, Correa ended up signing for much less than the recommended signing bonus amount of $7.2 million (he ended up signing for $4.8 million). Despite the Astros getting a discount for their top-pick, the Minnesota Twins have no plans to allow that to impact the negotiations with the team's top-pick, Byron Buxton.

According to twincities.com:

That Correa signed for significantly less than the recommended bonus shouldn't adversely affect the Twins' ability to sign Buxton, VP for player personnel Mike Radcliff said Friday morning, June 8.

"We've taken our players realizing what we think we're going to have to pay," Radcliff said.

The recommended signing bonus for Buxton is $6.2 million. The Twins are expecting that signing him will be fairly easy and it may come as early as next week (assuming he passes a physical).

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