Rebuilding is a nice word for losing a lot. The Twins can’t develop young players because those players are injured.

Beautiful nights at Target Field are not enough to draw fans as the Twins struggle through a losing season. (Photo/Jeff Wheeler, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Jim Souhan | The Minnesota Star Tribune

Byron Buxton is on pace to have one of the most spectacularly strange seasons in Major League Baseball history.

After hitting his 20th home run Wednesday night in Detroit, he was on pace to hit 47 homers and drive in 76 runs this season.

He would put himself in range to break the franchise record for home runs in a season — 49, by Harmon Killebrew — and become the only player in baseball history to hit 40 or more home runs and drive in fewer than 80 runs.

Mike Trout hit 40 homers and drove in 80 runs in 2022. Old friend Joey Gallo hit 41 home runs and drove in 80 in 2017.

Odds are, Buxton won’t break this odd record. Being “on pace” for something and accomplishing it are two different things. But Buxton’s bizarre production might be the Twins’ biggest draw for the rest of the season.

This team was not built to win, and it is fulfilling expectations.

The Twins are seven games under .500. They got here via the usual routes — key injuries, veteran failures, youthful immaturity and a low payroll that exacerbates all of this franchise’s mistakes and flaws.

I love baseball and ballparks, so I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from attending games or following the team.

I’m just dealing with reality.

This Twins’ rebuilding project might not crystallize until 2028. If then.

This season looks hopeless. There might not be a season in 2027, as owners correctly push for a salary cap and floor. And by 2028, the Twins’ current batch of young players might be ready to compete in the majors — with the words “might be” providing the key to the franchise’s future.

Losing is unsightly but can be productive if the team is developing its young players. The 2000 Twins were the reason the 2001 Twins became the talk of baseball, and the 2002 Twins went to the ALCS.

The biggest problem facing the 2026 Twins is that they aren’t even getting a chance to develop many of their best young players because of injuries, and that the young players they are trying to develop are either failing, slumping or revealing their limitations.

Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez might be the Twins’ top two prospects. They were supposed to start the season at Class AAA and be ready to make big-league debuts sometime this summer. Instead, they’re both injured, as has been the case for much of their minor league careers.

For much of the season, starting pitcher Taj Bradley was a spectacular success and an advertisement for the Twins’ eagerness to trade for young pitching talent. Since returning from the injured list, he has been ineffective.

The rest of the Twins’ talented young pitchers are either injured (Mick Abel, Kendry Rojas, David Festa), promising but still unproven (Zebby Matthews, Andrew Morris) or facing innings restrictions because of past injuries (Connor Prielipp).

The young-but-not-rookie portion of the roster — Brooks Lee, Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Royce Lewis — has been unreliable, with Lee emerging as the most productive and Wallner and Lewis requiring demotions in the hopes they would break out of career-defining slumps.

And, as is so often the case with the Twins, many of their best players are hurt. This year, it’s ace Pablo López and standout catcher Ryan Jeffers, both of whom are irreplaceable.

That journeyman Kody Clemens is one of the Twins’ best players is a credit to him and an indictment of the current roster.

Because this team is not competitive and next season might be shortened or canceled, ownership and the front office might choose to aim for 2028. Which could lead to more trades this summer.

The most likely trade targets: Joe Ryan and Jeffers (if he is able to return to health and production in time).

This is why rebuilding while playing in a beautiful ballpark after having raised expectations is problematic.

Rebuilding can take years. Fans might spend those years learning that they can find hobbies other than watching baseball in downtown Minneapolis.