Why Would the Twins Pay Anyone but Carlos Correa?

[PDX Twin]

IMHO: Not worth it. My (selective) memories of Correa with the Twins are from the July/August period when we were desperately clinging to the division lead, and Correa made weak outs in close games with runners in scoring position time after time after time. His statistics ended up pretty good for the year, but he was not Kirby, who always seemed to come through in his most important at-bat.

And as for his clubhouse presence, the Twins clubhouse in September was about as ugly as any I remember. And this was not a bunch of jaded veterans putting in their time. It was a collection of young, impressionable rookies desperate to make a good impression. Nelson Cruz made everyone else on the team better; if Correa did, I can't see the evidence from where I sit.

I'd be happy to get him for $20m/yr, but someone is going to pay him more than that, so I'll be satisfied with the Twins' standard "we tried" effort.

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, beckmt said:

If nothing else Cleveland has taught us pitching wins.  I would rather pay the pitchers starting this year and have the bridge with the good young players to held balance the teams budget. 

If all goes good, 24 will have Ryan, Ober, Winder, SWR, Varland, Prielipp, Festa, Balazovic, Mooney, Henriquez as starting pitching options, which is exactly what Cleveland has done. There really is no reason to go out and pay big money for a starting pitcher this year, which Gray, Mahle and Maeda on the team.

The Twins have holes at C, SS, and at least one outfield position. They have question marks at 2B (will Polanco bounce back), 1B/DH (with Miranda continue to improve and another outfield position (Who is Laranch?)

IMO the money needs to be spent on offense/defense and another stud in the bullpen. Because if 5 of the above 10 pitchers don't step up, it really isn't going to matter.

[Nashvilletwin]

A couple of questions:

1. How many of the 10 year deals for 28-30 year old players look good after year 7 or so? There must be data on that, right?

2. Having said that, how much is $35MM/year really worth in years 8-10 anyway? With inflation, tv revenue growth, etc., that $35MM may only really be $15-$20MM equivalent.

3. If we win one WS in that time frame, do the Pohlads really care? The FO?

4. Sure we have some solid SS talent in the organization (Lee, Lewis, Martin, and Miller), but isn’t, as the adage says, a bird in the hand better than two in the bush?

5. Signing CC is not incongruent with many, if not all, of those prospects playing huge roles on the Twins. In ‘24 would we not be thrilled with the four infield spots and DH covered interchangeably by Correa, Lewis, Lee, Miranda and Arraez?  And with Martin and Gordon in the super utility roles, specifically backing up Buxton in CF with a combo of Kiriloff, Larnach, Wallner or a new RH bat in the corner OF positions?

6. With Urshela, Kepler, Sano and Polanco gone, and with all of the essentially league minimum young talent among the position players, isn’t this the time to spend? Even more so if we believe in our young SP talent?

7. Isn’t signing CC the message you want to send to your fan base in a tough economic environment?

Conclusion: Aggressively pursuing CC makes sense. Even if the last few years are a disaster, the deterioration of the true dollar cost over time coupled with matching the high CC salary with the low salaries of our young core over the near to mid-term makes the risk worthwhile. But let’s not be disappointed if we don’t land him - there are still many alternative, compelling strategies for pursuing a title we can pursue. 

 

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, Squirrel said:

I'd say Mauer was a mega-contract. And, at the time, Kirby was. This team has done that, just rarely. It's time. We have the flexibility, we should get it done.

The productivity per dollar spent on the Mauer contract does not promote success.  It is very difficult for Mid market team to build a dominant team with that high a percentage of payroll invested in one player.  They kind of had to do it with the hometown hero but the investment and subsequent production from Mauer is not an example of success which contradicts mid market GMs avoiding these contracts.

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, mac098 said:

So the Mets giving Lindor that large contract is worthless? Or the Braves locking Acuna up for a team friendly contract hasn't paid off? What about Ozzie Albies? His team friendly contract hasn't paid off? The Braves took home the only hardware that matters last season. There are a lot of players who have signed mega-contracts that are now showing the fruits of their labor. Harper? The Phils took down the defending WS champs and are onto the NLCS. Kershaw back in the day. Machado. Yes, we have seen it backfire on teams like the Angels who have Trout and Rendon. But there is more to it than that. But what it ultimately comes down is this: If an organization is willing to spend the money on a play to sign the mega-contract, it show that they want to win. NOT that they just want to fill the seats in the stadium. It tells the fans, "Hey, we hear you. We want you to be proud to call yourself a fan of our team. So we decided to open the checkbook and sign (Insert superstar's name) because we want to bring some post-season hardware to our proud city." 

Honestly, it does come down how the fans support the team and how the owners/FO are willing to spend to be successful. Now we don't have be the Padres and gut our entire pipeline of young talent to make trades for superstars, but we can trade off some talent that may be held back because we already have a superstar in that position. 

If you look back at my post, I specifically noted small and mid market teams.  Pretty sure NY is not a mid market.  The Braves are also a very large market and a team friendly deal to Acuna to a prearb player has no relevance in comparing the type of contract being sought by Correa.

[DJL44]

3 hours ago, Trov said:

I agree they should not go after a different SS, and if they plan to spend big on anyone it should be CC.  However, I would not want any contract longer than 5 years, and I doubt that gets it done for him.  I think minimum he will be seeking 8 years, and most likely will get that, but I think he is seeking 10 years.  I am worried after 4 or 5 years he will drop off a bit, I could be wrong, but history shows most SS stop playing there in early 30's. His offense is above average for SS, but not for 3b, and if he drops off on that side of ball too, then he will be just a huge overpaid guy. 

Correa is pretty young. I don't have trouble locking him up until age 35. Almost every free agent is "overpaid" at the end, but they're usually underpaid at the beginning of the contract. If it helps you can pretend he made the money from his last season under contract in 2023 but it was deferred until 2030.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The anger and vitriol directed at Joe Mauer over the last few years of his contract should not be forgotten.  Any contract of this length is going to look bad at the end.  I honestly can't think of a contract like this that did not have 2+ years of "albatross" at the end.  This has to be considered when offering this deal.  Unlike Mauer, Correa is not a hometown guy.  He will be destroyed locally if he bats .240 with avg defense over the end of his contract.

So your argument is Twins fans are too stupid so they shouldn't ever pursue top talent.

[Murph]

I don't think I have it in me to place my hopes in the Twins again becoming a Major League contender.  They don't have the front office for it.  They've proved it year after year after year... They will not do what it takes to give their team a fighting chance against the East and the West.  Picking up cast-offs from other teams has proven to be folly, and the training ground in their minor league system is unremarkable.

Correa and Buxton are team leaders - on the field and in the clubhouse.  Losing Correa will be costly all the way around.  

For the remainder of the 2023 post-season:  "Anybody but the NYY."

 

[TwinsDr2021]

29 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

The productivity per dollar spent on the Mauer contract does not promote success.  It is very difficult for Mid market team to build a dominant team with that high a percentage of payroll invested in one player.  They kind of had to do it with the hometown hero but the investment and subsequent production from Mauer is not an example of success which contradicts mid market GMs avoiding these contracts.

The Twins problem from 2011 to 2018 wasn't Mauer's contract, it was their complete lack to develop any cheap alternatives from the minor leagues that had any lasting results. They were always supplementing their team with more expensive (relatively speaking) Suzuki, Hunter, Hughes, Santana, Willingham, Nolaxco, Correia, Thome, etc...

[LA VIkes Fan]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

So many people calling out for the Twins to sign Correa to a long-term contract... I agree that if you are going to sign a player to an 8 year deal this is as good a choice as any.

But...

The anger and vitriol directed at Joe Mauer over the last few years of his contract should not be forgotten.  Any contract of this length is going to look bad at the end.  I honestly can't think of a contract like this that did not have 2+ years of "albatross" at the end.  This has to be considered when offering this deal.  Unlike Mauer, Correa is not a hometown guy.  He will be destroyed locally if he bats .240 with avg defense over the end of his contract.

The FO has to consider this as well.  Considering the roller coaster that is Twins SP, you have to wonder if this is where they are willing to plant their flag, especially with Lewis in the wings.

If I were the FO, I would offer him 8y/$280 with a player opt out after 4 years.

My prediction:  He signs elsewhere for more than that.  The Twins sign a placeholder.

I think you're spot on with what will probably happen in terms of an offer. My guess is that he turns it down, signs for 8-10 years at 340m, and that the placeholder is Elvis Andrus on a 1 yr/6-8m deal. 

[mikelink45]

No!  I am completely for moving on.  SS remorse is ahead for a lot of teams overpaying for players who will be moved to 2B or 3B.  Does Houston miss him?  Pena is cheaper, younger, and doing well.  We have three potential young replacements - save the money and get a really good pitcher. 

[baul0010]

5 hours ago, Peter said:

Need to get correa back on twins-if ge lives it here why did he leave. Who can we get better? Lewis/lee aren’t ready yet, twins need to get they act together! 

If the F.O. believes we have the pitching needed in the minors...then we need to sign Correa.  Lewis/Lee....3rd and 2nd base.  We could have a awesome fielding/hitting infield with Correa, Arraez, Miranda, Lewis, and Lee.

[Nashvilletwin]

Would this be a contending position player lineup in ‘24 (and the next few years as well) from both a competitive and realistic budget perspective?

Interchangeable Infield and DH as Needed (Total: $47.1)

Correa SS ($35). 
Lewis 3B ($0.7). 
Lee 2B ($0.7). 
Arraez 1B ($5.0). 
Miranda DH ($0.7)

Interchangeable Outfield and DH as Needed (Total: $17.1)

Buxton CF ($15). 
Larnach LF ($0.7). 
Kiriloff RF ($0.7). 
Wallner RF/LF ($0.7).

Backup CF/Super Utility and DH as Needed (Total: $1.4)

Gordon CF/Other ($0.7). 
Martin CF/Other ($0.7)

Catcher (Total: $1.4)

Jeffers ($0.7). 
Backup - TBD ($0.7)

13 Position Players (Total: $67.0)

This lineup has speed, power, BA, OBP, fielding, throwing, flexibility, depth, RH and LH bats, vets and youth at a very reasonable price.  And it wouldn’t need to change much for several years. Lots of cash ($75 give or take) available for pitching as well.

Conclusion: sign Correa if we can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Major League Ready]

1 hour ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

The Twins problem from 2011 to 2018 wasn't Mauer's contract, it was their complete lack to develop any cheap alternatives from the minor leagues that had any lasting results. They were always supplementing their team with more expensive (relatively speaking) Suzuki, Hunter, Hughes, Santana, Willingham, Nolaxco, Correia, Thome, etc...

I agree it was not the problem.  However, that type of production is also not a solution.  He produced 7 Fwar the last 5 years of his contract.  This organization must invest much better than that if we are to be successful.  

[chpettit19]

59 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

No!  I am completely for moving on.  SS remorse is ahead for a lot of teams overpaying for players who will be moved to 2B or 3B.  Does Houston miss him?  Pena is cheaper, younger, and doing well.  We have three potential young replacements - save the money and get a really good pitcher. 

Pena isn't the reason they don't miss Correa. Bregman, Altuve, Tucker, and Alvarez are the reason they don't miss him. Oh wait, that's just the reason they don't miss him on the position player side. Their entire pitching staff can be added to that list. Pointing to a team with far more talent and saying "see, you don't need Correa to be good" isn't a good comparison to the current Twins situation. The Astros have developed their own hitting and pitching stars so they didn't need to sign Correa to the deal he wants. The Twins have failed to develop any stars outside of Buxton for half a season at a time, and maybe Duran as a bullpen star. 

With the young talent the Twins have arriving now they should sign Correa AND a really good pitcher. Correa and Rodon as the only 2 offseason signings for about 60 million a year total would be just fine with me. But we need to stop pointing to teams like the Astros who succeed after letting a star go because they have other stars to cover for them and saying that shows you don't need to sign stars. The Nats let Harper go, do they miss him? The Red Sox thought they wouldn't miss Mookie, how's that turned out? The Twins seem to have a nice core of solid MLB players arriving now. Very few, if any, of them look like stars. So, unfortunately, actually having to spend market rates for a star is the only option they have right now. And if Lewis does become a star, great, now they'd be at 2.5 with Correa and Buxton as well as Lewis so they're still not at the level of star power Houston is running out there currently.

[TwinsDr2021]

54 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

Would this be a contending position player lineup in ‘24 (and the next few years as well) from both a competitive and realistic budget perspective?

Nobody can know if this team would be competitive, how many questions marks are there?

Lee, Lewis, Miranda, Larnach, AK, Jeffers, Wallner and Martin.

Three of those seem like they have a pretty good chance at being regulars (Larnach, Lewis and Miranda) and probably Jeffers, but as of now Lee, AK, Wallner and Martin are complete unknowns. But as of now that should go right along with the unknowns in the pitching staff for 24.

The question will be can 23 be used as a season to figure these things out? I would say no, so I wouldn't expect Wallner, Lee, Martin, AK and Lewis to be in the teams Plan A. Doesn't mean that can ascend to those positions during the year with great minor seasons. If any of them are in Plan A and this goes south 23 could turn in 21 with a sell off of Gray, Mahle, Maeda, Urshela and Polanco (if they are still here), I also assume they will be giving the "young" pitchers every chance to succeed.

[mac098]

4 hours ago, Launch Angle said:

You missed the point of this comment, the Twins aren't in the same market as the Met's, Phillies, Dodger's or Angels. The Braves are much closer in terms of payroll but still higher. And I wouldn't consider Acuna's or Ablies' contracts as mega contracts. They were both considered way below market value, they each gave a huge hometown discount for long term financial security. 

Yes, we aren't in the same category as the NY teams or LA teams, but we should be able to compete with the Phil's, Braves, and Guardians, all 3 of which made the playoffs. The Pohlad's are cheap and we know it. They want to be able to win a WS with a minimum payroll roster. 

What defines mega Contract? Is it years, salary, or a combination? Because the Twins went pretty expensive with Joe Mauer's contract many years ago. So, ultimately it falls on the Twins to sign their players to friendly contracts as soon as they can. They need to stop beating around the bush and start insuring their future. 

But as far as missing the point of this point. I did not. Every team has every capability of signing all players. Its just a matter of opening the checkbook and going from there. If it means a few years of success with increased prices at the stadium, I would be okay with that. Because players would actually want to come here at that point. Success breeds Success. 

[MGM4706]

Twin fans already can hear the excuses. "We gave him a "Fair" offer but it just didn't work out! They have used that line so many times in the past and we all know their definition of "Fair Offer" never matches reality!! The best 2-way left side of the infield the Twins have had in years will be gone to save the money. We all know that!

[FlyingFinn]

7 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

What the article does not cover is the examples of teams in similar markets that have been successful signing a mega contract with a similar player.  The reality is that it never happens.  In other words, none of the GMs of teams with similar revenue have believed signing such a player was in the best interest of the team.  Are they all wrong?

We would be a better team next year with him but we be a better team in 24 and for several years thereafter with Lewis or Lee at SS and $35M invested in pitching?

Great comment. We drafted six SS's last year and another in the 1st round the year before. Doesn't mean that the Twins plans change but nothing points to signing a SS for ten years at $300 million. And like you say, the GM's with similar internal salary caps are not doing this. Just look at Donaldson - his four-year contract felt like an anchor after two years and we had to give up players for the Yankees to take him.

[GopherJeff]

Agent Boras is going to determine where CC plays next year, and that means he'll go to the highest bidder. That, sadly, leaves the Twins out.

Best for the Twins to focus on other needs: a solid shortstop and a top-level starter. If they can't acquire both via free agency, they'll need to put together a trade. What are the Twins willing to give up to get what they need?

[mikelink45]

2 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

Pena isn't the reason they don't miss Correa. Bregman, Altuve, Tucker, and Alvarez are the reason they don't miss him. Oh wait, that's just the reason they don't miss him on the position player side. Their entire pitching staff can be added to that list. Pointing to a team with far more talent and saying "see, you don't need Correa to be good" isn't a good comparison to the current Twins situation. The Astros have developed their own hitting and pitching stars so they didn't need to sign Correa to the deal he wants. The Twins have failed to develop any stars outside of Buxton for half a season at a time, and maybe Duran as a bullpen star. 

With the young talent the Twins have arriving now they should sign Correa AND a really good pitcher. Correa and Rodon as the only 2 offseason signings for about 60 million a year total would be just fine with me. But we need to stop pointing to teams like the Astros who succeed after letting a star go because they have other stars to cover for them and saying that shows you don't need to sign stars. The Nats let Harper go, do they miss him? The Red Sox thought they wouldn't miss Mookie, how's that turned out? The Twins seem to have a nice core of solid MLB players arriving now. Very few, if any, of them look like stars. So, unfortunately, actually having to spend market rates for a star is the only option they have right now. And if Lewis does become a star, great, now they'd be at 2.5 with Correa and Buxton as well as Lewis so they're still not at the level of star power Houston is running out there currently.

I can only point to the Angels with the two best AL players - how often have they won.  Where would we have finished without Correa.  Sorry I do not see a long term extravagant contract to Correa doing us any good. 

And I repeat - Houston let Pena play and get a 4.8 WAR as a rookie while we had Correa with 5.4 WAR.  For those who like HRs both hit 22.   Correa had one more AB.  Pena - $700,000, Correa $35,000,000.  Is .5 WAR worth .6 WAR?  

I agree that Houston has a better all around team, but Correa is not taking us to the playoffs and that money can be spent better in other ways.  One position player does not make a team great.  

I know this will upset many of you who want to see the Twins spend money, but I am not one who buys into this get Correa quickly - we cannot afford to lose him. For the majority of the season he was average - then he made his salary push for the end of the season and the results?  He looks better, the Twins team stunk. 

[AceWrigley]

I'll be very surprised if Correa signs with the Twins.

[jmlease1]

41 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I can only point to the Angels with the two best AL players - how often have they won.  Where would we have finished without Correa.  Sorry I do not see a long term extravagant contract to Correa doing us any good. 

And I repeat - Houston let Pena play and get a 4.8 WAR as a rookie while we had Correa with 5.4 WAR.  For those who like HRs both hit 22.   Correa had one more AB.  Pena - $700,000, Correa $35,000,000.  Is .5 WAR worth .6 WAR?  

I agree that Houston has a better all around team, but Correa is not taking us to the playoffs and that money can be spent better in other ways.  One position player does not make a team great.  

I know this will upset many of you who want to see the Twins spend money, but I am not one who buys into this get Correa quickly - we cannot afford to lose him. For the majority of the season he was average - then he made his salary push for the end of the season and the results?  He looks better, the Twins team stunk. 

as they say: "Let's go to the video tape!"

Carlos Correa OPS by month:

• Mar/Apr .633
• May .884
• June 1.012
• July .614
• Aug .776
• Sept/Oct 1.001

Doesn't look like he waited for the end of the year to buff his stats, his best month was actually June. His 3rd best was May. He finished the year at a 140 OPS+ which is absolutely stellar, and the best on the club (sorry, Royce: 12 games doesn't qualify you). First half OPS: .803, Second half .866. (I'm also fairly convinced that if he had tailed off at the end of the season, a segment of the fanbase would have trashed him for not coming through late in the year when we "needed him" or something)

Houston bet on a young player they had developed and it worked out for them. If Royce Lewis had finished the season healthy, I suspect the twins would be making the same bet...but he's not. He's having another knee surgery. I love the kid, and I root for him, but he's got another barrier up and Correa is as close to a sure thing as I've seen.

I'd rather bet long term deals on position players than pitchers. and Correa is exactly the kind of guy I'd push my chips in for. Truly great player, plays a premium position, has skills that will age well, and appears to have every intangible you could ask for.

[chpettit19]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I can only point to the Angels with the two best AL players - how often have they won.  Where would we have finished without Correa.  Sorry I do not see a long term extravagant contract to Correa doing us any good. 

And I repeat - Houston let Pena play and get a 4.8 WAR as a rookie while we had Correa with 5.4 WAR.  For those who like HRs both hit 22.   Correa had one more AB.  Pena - $700,000, Correa $35,000,000.  Is .5 WAR worth .6 WAR?  

I agree that Houston has a better all around team, but Correa is not taking us to the playoffs and that money can be spent better in other ways.  One position player does not make a team great.  

I know this will upset many of you who want to see the Twins spend money, but I am not one who buys into this get Correa quickly - we cannot afford to lose him. For the majority of the season he was average - then he made his salary push for the end of the season and the results?  He looks better, the Twins team stunk. 

The Angels are worse at building a pitching staff than the Twins. That's all anyone needs to know about why they can't win.

Yes, Pena was good. Not claiming he wasn't. But their willingness to take a chance on the rookie being good was because they had a great team around him. Much of his WAR came from his defense, though. In my experience, you don't even find a majority of people who work in analytics who believe the defensive stats should be taken as gospel. Pena was almost exactly a league average hitter. His OPS+ was 101. Correa's was 140. Slight difference there, no?

"Salary push for the end of the season" is a nonsense, not even remotely based in reality argument. You think he waited until September and then was like "dang, I guess it's time to start trying now so I can get my $350 mil?" That's complete and utter nonsense. No player does that. 

I've never, not even once, suggested the Twins can't afford to lose him. But the facts of the situation is that you need stars to win. The Twins are not developing their own. But they have developed a bunch of guys who look to be solid major league regulars. Since they've built nearly an entire 26 man roster of major league regulars who are on well below market deals they can afford to sign Correa. And a pitcher. Why would any fan of the team not want them to spend money to improve the team? What do they gain by not signing Correa? He wasn't "average" for the majority of the season. In fact his OPS+ was above 130 for almost all of it. That's well above average. He did struggle in the clutch moments like the rest of the roster, I will grant that.

But this isn't about "have to," it's about how else do you improve this team so they can actually win a playoff game? Signing a star who you can more than afford seems like a pretty reasonable way to improve the team. The point of having a steady stream of major league regulars developed by your own system on cheap deals is so that you can afford to sign the stars. They have a star. They have a bunch of regulars on cheap deals. If this isn't the time you want to sign a star there literally never will be a time. There aren't enough holes on the roster to need to go out and sign a bunch of mid-level guys. Sign a stud starting pitcher and a stud SS and let's play ball. They can afford it and have the players on the rest of the roster to be able to win some games. If you disagree you should be suggesting they trade everyone on the roster and start a full on rebuild. Trade Buxton, Mahle, Gray, Ryan, Miranda, Duran, all of them.

[chpettit19]

2 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

Great comment. We drafted six SS's last year and another in the 1st round the year before. Doesn't mean that the Twins plans change but nothing points to signing a SS for ten years at $300 million. And like you say, the GM's with similar internal salary caps are not doing this. Just look at Donaldson - his four-year contract felt like an anchor after two years and we had to give up players for the Yankees to take him.

The position players are drafted at shouldn't be looked at all that hard. Beyond IF/OF/P there really isn't much to that. There are dozens of "SS" drafted every year that every team knows has no shot at staying at SS. And Miller hit .212 in low A this year. He's not stopping them from signing a long-term deal with a SS.

The Donaldson deal is an interesting one. Everyone knows the last few years of these "mega deals" are more than likely going to be bad. The hope is that you get so much out of the first handful of years to make it worth it. The problem with Donaldson's deal is that he was paid pretty much what he was likely going to be worth the first couple years before the last couple years had him making well more than he'd be worth. There was no period in that contract that had him earning well above his pay to make the deal worth it. Signing Correa to a 7-10 year deal would be with the expectation that he's worth well more than he's paid over the first 6 or 7 years and you are able to produce a cheap, young player to replace him when he has to move to 3B and isn't worth the contract after that.

Long-term deals aren't about getting your money's worth every year, it's about getting your money's worth over the life of the deal. And Urshela was the best player in that Donaldson deal so I don't know that I'd say the Twins had to give up players for the Yankees to take him. Rortvedt isn't a prospect, despite fans around here really wanting him to be. He's a left handed Drew Butera. IKF is a good fielding, no hit (84 OPS+ this year, 82 for his career) player that had a rookie replace him in the playoffs so he didn't even start game 5 today. The Twins didn't give up anything of value and got the best player in that deal.

[Chaz1966]

why not 5 yrs. 200 mil ? It makes him the highest paid per year at 40 mil. and is only for 5 yrs in case something goes wrong, i.e. injury or just not performing. It would laso not be an albatros contract that couldn't be moved at the deadline if wanted. I in no way want to offer a 10 yr deal, that makes no sense, we have youngsters who could replace him by then.

[Vanimal46]

I think Falvey and Levine will know early in the offseason if Correa will re-sign with the Twins or not. And if not, then move on and pursue the other 3 top FA SS. 

LA Dodgers have been over the competitive tax threshold for 2 years in a row, hit the “Steve Cohen penalty” this year, and will likely take a step back in spending. The Yankees have to worry about paying Judge a gazillion dollars this offseason. The Cubs are crying poor and not competitive. Boston just paid Story $140 million. 

All the talk in the first couple years of Falvine’s tenure was “financial flexibility”. Whelp, here we are. The books have never been cleaner. If they don’t spend money now for a clear need at SS, it’s never going to happen. 

[tony&rodney]

If money is going to be such a big impediment every year then Correa doesn't fit. If the budget is up to around $150 million for 2023, Correa fits. I would like to see the Twins have Correa at shortstop.

My primary concern is that the Twins become more skilled on defense and more athletic overall. While Correa is a plodder, he does know how to run the bases and his presence would allow our Lewis, Martin, Lee group to grow into the game.

There are players to trade or drop that would pare back the dollars by quite a bit. I don't expect Falvey to part with players he has added. In fact, i would be surprised. I am just a fan though and would not miss all of Gray, Mahle, Maeda, Paddack, Pagan, and Lopez. These players in addition to a couple others (Arraez, Jeffers, Larnach) could bring back something depending on whether there are any teams having an interest. I expect the team will return mostly intact and judging from many comments this is a preference from fans too.

Correa seems like a reasonable bet for six decent and two declining seasons. So 9/290 might be the number.

[jorgenswest]

11 hours ago, Major League Ready said:

What the article does not cover is the examples of teams in similar markets that have been successful signing a mega contract with a similar player.  The reality is that it never happens.  In other words, none of the GMs of teams with similar revenue have believed signing such a player was in the best interest of the team.  Are they all wrong?

We would be a better team next year with him but we be a better team in 24 and for several years thereafter with Lewis or Lee at SS and $35M invested in pitching?

How similar are the Cardinals?

[Major League Ready]

7 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

How similar are the Cardinals?

The Cardinals average about $75M more in revenue as compared to the twins.  They have done a great job acquiring the right "big names" with the huge revenue of the biggest markets.  So, give them credit but they can cover a couple big contracts with the incremental revenue they have beyond the twins revenue.   In other words, if the Twins had another $75m in revenue I would be saying they should sign Correa.