MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Each of the three All-Star selections of Byron Buxton's major league career has naturally brought him a deep sense of appreciation.
This one was undoubtedly the most satisfying.
Voted in as a starter by fan balloting for the first time, Buxton reveled in the fact that he landed on the American League squad with Minnesota Twins teammate Joe Ryan for the second straight summer.
Playing on market-value contracts for a team in transition with a bottom-third payroll that conducted a big selloff before the deadline last year, Buxton and Ryan have been prominently included on just about every baseball pundit's list of trade candidates for months on end.
Yet they're both still wearing Twins uniforms and going back to the All-Star Game this season while representing a plucky club that has shown plenty of competitiveness for all of its roster imperfections.
Buxton, a two-time Gold Glove award winner in center field, ranks fifth in the majors with 25 home runs with a robust .904 OPS mark that's his best since 2021. Ryan, one of the pitchers elected by the players, leads baseball with 19 starts and is seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
“It means a lot to be able to represent the Twins but also to be able to start out the season good,” Buxton said in New York on Saturday when MLB unveiled the All-Star teams. "To be able to run it back with Joe is a little bit more special to me.”
The second overall pick in the 2012 draft, Buxton has deftly persevered through his well-documented history of injuries to become not only the five-tool player the Twins long envisioned but a vital leader in a clubhouse of mostly younger players who revere him.
Despite a threadbare bullpen and a series of injuries that have diluted a strong group of starting pitchers, the Twins have so far hung around in both an AL Central division that's there for the taking and a wide-open race for three wild-card spots. They won a road series against the Yankees over the weekend for the first time in 12 years.
“I truly think this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball,” Buxton said. “With the support that we have in here, the resilience that the team has, everything that makes this group us. I know I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Buxton was removed from the game on Sunday as a precaution after feeling discomfort in the right hip that has given him problems from time to time this season, putting his All-Star Game appearance in question with the event approaching on July 14. The Twins were off on Monday, giving him a bonus day to rest before starting a three-game series against division rival Cleveland on Tuesday. But so far, Buxton has not had to go on the injured list at all this year, another point of pride for the 32-year-old.
“I don’t want to set myself back farther, just in case I was trying to push through it or whatever the situation was,” Buxton said after the game on Sunday. “I don’t want to put the team in a bad spot by me trying to go out there and be Superman by trying to play one game and I end up missing a month.”
During the team's most recent homestand, general manager Jeremy Zoll began an interview session, unprompted, by declaring that Buxton has never been on the trade block and won't be now. Buxton, for his part, has a no-trade clause that he has consistently and emphatically alluded to anytime his status comes up with reporters. Buxton's contract, which pays him a little more than $15 million per year, expires after the 2028 season.
“We have no plans to trade Byron,” Zoll said. “It's not something we're exploring. It's not something we plan to explore.”
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Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton prepares for an at-bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) and Luke Keaschall (15) react after defeating the New York Yankees in a baseball game Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton watches his run scoring double during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — A former campus police officer testified Monday that he found an apparent “sniper pad” on a rooftop near where Charlie Kirk was assassinated, as prosecutors sought to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to put a Utah man on trial for murder.
Former Utah Valley University Officer Christopher Bagley said he witnessed Kirk's shooting while the conservative activist was speaking to a crowd of thousands last year. Soon after, Bagley went to a nearby gravel rooftop, where it appeared someone had been lying prone with a clear sightline to Kirk's location, he said.
“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley said, adding, "you’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet.”
The testimony came as Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump’s son.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for defendant Tyler Robinson. A five-day preliminary hearing that began Monday marks the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case.
Robinson's parents also were present, sitting a few rows behind the Kirks as the hearing began. The 23-year-old defendant is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, a conservative activist and ally of Trump. Robinson turned himself in the day after the shooting.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Prosecutors showed several videos of Kirk's shooting as they made their case to state District Judge Tony Graf. Attorneys from both sides tried to shield their monitors from spectators in the court gallery, after Graf said the assassination videos couldn't be publicized because of their graphic nature.
Utah State Bureau of Investigations Agent David Hull described the videos during questioning by prosecutors: They showed the crowd milling around at the event, Kirk interacting with some of the spectators, the harrowing moment when he was shot and, finally, an anxious scene as Kirk's security detail picked him up and took him away while administering first aid.
Robinson sat quietly between his attorneys throughout the hearing, looking at the prosecution’s exhibits on a monitor and occasionally taking notes. He wore a gray suit, and his wrists were shackled to a chain around his waist.
Charlie Kirk's parents and widow walked out of the courtroom when a police officer started testifying about Kirk’s arrival on campus the day he was shot. They later returned.
The proceeding resembles a minitrial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors as a result should have little trouble advancing their case, said Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City.
“This standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing," said Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. “
Bagley, the prosecution's first witness, said he could see the right side of Charlie Kirk’s body as Kirk spoke on campus. Kirk was answering a question when Bagley heard a gunshot.
“I saw him go to the left ... I could no longer see the right side of his body,” Bagley said. “Then everybody started getting up and started to run, more of a chaos situation.”
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled. Bagley acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and didn't know if it was fingerprinted.
Nester repeatedly objected to evidence introduced by prosecutors, but was overruled by the judge. Any evidence from this week’s hearing would have to be reintroduced again to be used at trial.
Prosecutors can use secondhand information, or hearsay, to help present their case. They expect to present between 40 and 50 exhibits during this week's hearing.
Prosecutors have said they plan to present DNA evidence linking Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk’s killing. They are also expected to argue the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Once the hearing is finished, Graf must determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Robinson's roommate is not expected to testify in person during the hearing. Still, the roommate's recorded testimony could be a focal point for prosecutors.
In addition to the alleged confession note, Robinson reportedly texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.
Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.
The Republican president has said he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.
Erika Kirk said during his memorial service that she forgives Robinson.
Ahead of Monday's hearing, she thanked supporters in a statement for their kindness and prayers.
“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” she wrote, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”
She added that the public outpouring “has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Charlie Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)
Media reporters wait outside the Fourth District Courthouse, ahead of a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)
People stand by a door at the Fourth District Courthouse ahead of a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)
Attorney Kathryn Nester, left, arrives at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)
FILE - A well-wisher places flowers at a makeshift memorial set up for Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA headquarters, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
