MINNEAPOLIS -- In the second inning of the Twins’ 6-2 loss to the Angels at Target Field on Sunday, Minnesota’s center fielder leaped at the wall while tracking the ball -- a familiar sight for anybody who has watched Byron Buxton man that grass over his seven seasons with the Twins.

It wasn’t Buxton out there, though; it was Jake Cave.

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Regardless of what happens in the five days until the Trade Deadline, another pressing question across Twins Territory over that period -- and beyond -- will pertain to how much longer fans might still expect to see Buxton’s otherworldly talent in center field, especially in the wake of the news on Sunday that the Twins and their center fielder still could not agree on a contract extension, as first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

A source confirmed to Feinsand that the Twins’ latest offer to Buxton’s representatives had included an approximately $80 million guarantee over seven years, coming in the wake of an otherworldly April in which all of the center fielder’s tools coalesced for a .369/.409/.767 line with 10 homers, 11 doubles and five steals.

If Buxton and the Twins can’t agree to a contract extension that will keep him in Minnesota beyond the 2022 season, his final season of arbitration eligibility, it would make sense for Minnesota to trade him in order to recoup future value, whether at the upcoming July 30 Trade Deadline, or in the offseason. A trade in the next five days could be more difficult, though, considering that Buxton remains sidelined with a fractured left hand that remains in a splint due to a hit-by-pitch more than a month ago.

Regardless of the course of action the Twins take, Buxton’s agent, B.B. Abbott, indicated to Feinsand that the center fielder remained committed to Minnesota throughout his remaining club control.

“We have had numerous conversations with the Twins over the years in regards to ‘Buck’ and his future with the organization,” Abbott said to Feinsand, echoing an earlier statement to The Athletic. “None of these talks change that he is a Twin for the rest of this year and assuming that they tender him a contract in arbitration, then he’ll be a Twin next year.

“What the team decides to do in the interim to change the course of that future is certainly their right. But nothing changes as far as we’re concerned in regard to Buck’s goals going forward, which is to get healthy and to play for the organization, his teammates, the city and the fans.”

Buxton’s case is among several choices the Twins have to make ahead of the coming Trade Deadline regarding their players with a year of club control remaining -- a group that also includes José Berríos, Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey has previously indicated that the Twins hope to contend in 2022, but Buxton and Berríos in particular represent cases in which the club might find significant value via trades -- especially on this market -- if an extension proves unlikely.

Of course, Buxton’s level of talent is exemplary even in Major League Baseball. Considering how that talent has translated to the field in previously unseen ways over the last two-plus seasons -- and particularly this season, when he won American League Player of the Month honors in April -- it’s easier now than ever to see how a healthy Buxton could make a difference that few, if any, other players in the Majors could match for a Twins team hoping to contend in 2022 and beyond.

But, as has always been the case with Buxton, “healthy” is the operative word there -- and that’s why the sides might struggle to find a middle ground in negotiations.

Consider other center-field extensions of recent years, like 29-year-old Aaron Hicks inking a seven-year, $70 million deal with the Yankees a year before his scheduled free agency, or Charlie Blackmon signing a six-year, $108 million extension with the Rockies at age 31 in 2018. Buxton, in comparison, is 27, and would hit the market as a 28-year-old next offseason.

But he’s only appeared in 459 games over seven seasons -- an average of under 66 games per campaign -- and that could make a longer commitment more challenging, though the Twins have continued to work with Buxton on his outfield play to mitigate the risk of injury. His most recent maladies have included a hit-by-pitch on the hand that has cost him significant time this year and being hit on the helmet at the end of last season, costing him the playoffs -- both of which were completely out of his control.

“Ultimately, we certainly have appreciated and enjoyed what happened on the field in the past -- both the ups and downs and keen talent,” Falvey said on MLB Network Radio on Sunday morning. “But what we really need to get a sense for is, what do we think a player is going to do going into the future? That is informed by what has transpired over the last number of years.”

Could the Twins’ lack of deal with Buxton thus far impact their approach at this Trade Deadline and beyond as they plan out how their immediate -- and not-so-immediate -- future will look? They don’t have much time left to figure that out.