Pain in the Back: Reviewing Carlos Correa's Injury History

[Cody Christie]

Minnesota's significant free-agent acquisition seems like a slam dunk, but a severe injury may impact how long Carlos Correa stays in Minnesota. Here's a look back at his injury history during his big-league career.

Twins fans are familiar with injuries to star players as the team was able to sign oft-injured Byron Buxton to a team-friendly extension. Correa and Buxton were the first two picks in the 2012 MLB Draft, and Correa has played 259 more games than Buxton. However, Correa has missed time with injuries throughout his career.

2017: Correa injured a thumb ligament when he slid into a catcher's shin guard on a slide into home. While this may seem like a fluke injury, he missed 42 games, and he aggravated the injury in the postseason. Houston won the World Series that season and Correa was a crucial cog in that championship run. 

2018: During the 2018 campaign, Correa landed on the IL for 36 games due to a back injury. He returned from the injury, but it was one of his worst big-league seasons. In 110 games, he posted a .728 OPS with 20 doubles and 15 home runs. His back was still bothering him, but he tried to play through the injury as the Astros made another run to the ALCS. 

2019: Correa's back injury didn't completely go away as he missed time in August and September of 2019. His most considerable injury came in 2019 when he missed two months with a cracked rib. One might think this was caused by a diving play or a fastball to the rib cage, but those would be incorrect guesses. An in-home massage caused his rib injury, and he was limited to 75 games this season. 

2020: The shortened 2020 season impacted players differently, but it was Correa's worst at the big-league level. His .709 OPS was almost 20 points lower than his 2018 campaign when he tried to play through his back injury. Even with the poor performance, he played nearly every game of the shortened season. Correa's only missed time was in September when he fouled a ball off his ankle. He helped the Astros defeat the Twins during the playoffs. He went 3-for-6 with a home run. 

2021: Correa played 148 games last season, which is the second-highest total of his career. His only missed time was when he was placed on the IL due to health and safety protocols. He had one of his best offensive seasons, finishing fifth for the AL MVP and winning the Platinum Glove as the AL's best defender. 

When taking out the shortened 2020 season, Correa has averaged over 115 games per season since he debuted in 2015. He hasn't been Cal Ripken Jr. at the shortstop position, but few players are ironmen in today's game. Correa has dealt with back issues throughout his career, which can worsen as players age. 

Minnesota fans and Correa can hope he stays healthy this season and posts monster numbers. It will likely mean his Twins tenure is short, but he will undoubtedly be fun to watch in the season ahead. 

Are you concerned by Correa's injury history? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

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[mikelink45]

Thanks for the warning  - Donaldson for Correa - both have injury issues, but Correa when healthy gives us coverage at a critical position.  I will take the trade off.

[RJA]

Go ahead, Cody, ruin our euphoria over the signing ;)!  Actually, there is a higher than average injury risk with him based on his past history.  That is probably one big factor Boras considered when locking in a 3 year contract.  But, as mikelink noted, I will gladly trade a Donaldson risk of injury for a Correa risk of injury.

[The Mad King]

They all sound like legitimate injuries, not mysterious cankle issues...

[Dman]

Backs can flair up at any time but the fact that he was healthy all last season and is under 30 I don't see it as a "huge" risk for what the Twins signed on for.  Remember any player can get hurt at any time and miss most of a season. Correa has a lot to play for this year so odds are he will be keeping himself in tip top shape and work to mitigate his injury risk. The potential downside of the Correa deal seem limited based on the opt outs and length of the deal IMO.

I can see however, where that back issue coupled with the fact that he isn't exactly fast for the SS position had teams somewhat scared off doing a long term deal.  He wants up the middle money but it seems unlikely he will play there through the length of that contract. So he needs to stay healthy and have another good year to put those worries about him to rest.  

Correa could still get seriously injured and this could end up a bad deal.  That is certainly one of the many potential outcomes but as a team\FO you take on risk with every contract from Dobnak to Buxton to Correa.  To field a good team you have to take on some risk.   Every team does. The Twins have an All-Star player very motivated to get a long term contact so I think this was a worthwhile risk for them to take.  Even if this deal does go sideways you can't blame the FO for being aggressive and trying to compete this year. 

 

[bighat]

Played 148 games last year and had 630ABs.

From a Twins' fan perspective, that's not an "injury prone" player. We know what that phrase means, and Correa ain't it. He's going to play more games than Donaldson this year, I'm betting.

[Trov]

I think the back issues are exactly why we were able to sign him.  We signed Buxton because of his injury history so his asking price was so much lower than could have been.  Correa was looking for the biggest deal of the off-season.  I think teams were worried that his back injury would continue to be an issue into his 30's so were less willing to give him a 10 year 300 mil deal like he wanted.  

He is mostly betting on himself here that he can show he will stay healthy for a second season and then a team will be more willing to take that long term risk.  If it acts up again, then he has a couple more years to make good money and prove he can get another deal at 30.  It would not be for record setting money at that point. 

[Karbo]

Back injuries are hard to predict. As one who has dealt with back issues for the last 40 years now I have a certain amount of knowledge on the issue. Lower back injuries can be worked on and the muscles built up quite a bit thru PT in my experience, where upper back injuries are much more difficult to work on. The advances made over the last 15-20 years in pain control to help is amazing. Its no longer how much pain can you take before you need narcotics. There are several other ways that an athlete can couple with good solid training to minimize a chronic type back pain. The key is to keep in great physical shape. It appears to me He has kept himself in good shape and I'm sure the Twins staff will make sure he continues too.

[chpettit19]

55 minutes ago, Dman said:

Backs can flair up at any time but the fact that he was healthy all last season and is under 30 I don't see it as a "huge" risk for what the Twins signed on for.  Remember any player can get hurt at any time and miss most of a season. Correa has a lot to play for this year so odds are he will be keeping himself in tip top shape and work to mitigate his injury risk. The potential downside of the Correa deal seem limited based on the opt outs and length of the deal IMO.

I can see however, where that back issue coupled with the fact that he isn't exactly fast for the SS position had teams somewhat scared off doing a long term deal.  He wants up the middle money but it seems unlikely he will play there through the length of that contract. So he needs to stay healthy and have another good year to put those worries about him to rest.  

Correa could still get seriously injured and this could end up a bad deal.  That is certainly one of the many potential outcomes but as a team\FO you take on risk with every contract from Dobnak to Buxton to Correa.  To field a good team you have to take on some risk.   Every team does. The Twins have an All-Star player very motivated to get a long term contact so I think this was a worthwhile risk for them to take.  Even if this deal does go sideways you can't blame the FO for being aggressive and trying to compete this year. 

 

It's interesting to see Seager get the kind of deal Correa was expecting when he has the same, and maybe even more, concerns. Think Correa misplayed the market here. Maybe the Twins weren't the only ones surprised by the spending spree before the lockout!

[Dman]

12 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

It's interesting to see Seager get the kind of deal Correa was expecting when he has the same, and maybe even more, concerns. Think Correa misplayed the market here. Maybe the Twins weren't the only ones surprised by the spending spree before the lockout!

Yeah I have to say I was really surprised by the Seager signing.  He has an injury history as well.  Texas must have liked something there and over payed to make sure they got him early in the process.  Maybe the Dodgers were willing to go 300M and Texas needed to top it to get him?  Still will be interesting to see how that plays out for Texas as it seems like a big risk to me.  Then again I thought the Tatis signing was likely pretty solid and he has been hurt a fair bit too.  Maybe sometimes you just have to take that leap and hope for the best?

[Doctor Gast]

Best case scenario, Correa earns his $ repeats last year and opts out. Worst case scenario, he misses considerable amount of time due injuries and the same the following year. I hope for the 1st scenario. In any case we need Lewis to step up and be able to back up at SS. We need Lewis more than ever so anyone who thinks Lewis is a trading piece, forget it.

[mikelink45]

He can opt out - can the Twins?