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  • Carlos Correa Makes His Decision Clear


    Cody Christie

    For most of the season, fans have wondered if Carlos Correa would opt out of his unique Twins contract. His message on Thursday points to a clear decision already in his mind.

     

    Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

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    There were many reasons why the Twins were able to sign Carlos Correa. Minnesota freed up salary space by dumping Josh Donaldson's contract on the Yankees. The front office also hadn't made any major free agent signings, so there was still payroll flexibility. And that was just the beginning of the Correa free agent puzzle. 

    Correa's new agent, Scott Boras, didn't want to split his major contract with his previous representatives. His free agent market didn't develop exactly as planned, and he was young to reach free agency, so pushing his major contract one year shouldn't hurt his long-term value. The perfect storm allowed Correa to wear a Twins' uniform for the year.

    Correa started slowly in 2022, but some of that may have been expected after an abbreviated spring training. His OPS was under .700 in the season's first month, and the rest of the campaign became a roller coaster ride. He posted an OPS above 1.000 in July and saw it dip to under .620 in August. While the Twins have faded in September, Correa has been playing his best. In 25 games, he has hit .347/.405/.594 (1.000) with seven doubles and six home runs. His 5.1 WAR leads the Twins, and he's also made defensive improvements after a slow start on that side of the ball.

    Through the 2022 season, Correa has made it clear that he'd love to stay with the Twins. He has two years remaining on the $105.3 million deal he signed this winter. However, he told reporters what it would take for him to stay with the Twins for 2023 and beyond.

    Correa said, "When I go to the mall and I go to the Dior store and I want something, I get it. I ask how much it costs and I buy it. So if you really want something, you just go get it. I'm the product here, so if they want my product, they just gotta come get it."

    It seems clear from this message that Correa will opt out of his contract in the days following the World Series. He's also making it clear that the club won't be receiving any type of discount even after paying him the highest annual contract for any infielder in baseball history. The Twins would have to pay up to sign Correa long-term, which seems unlikely to happen. 

    If he opts out, Correa will join a free agent class that is expected to include Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson. Last winter, Corey Seager received $325 million from the Texas Rangers, so it seems likely for Correa to want to be around that contract amount. Minnesota can give him a contract near that total, but this front office enjoys payroll flexibility. 

    As the Twins finish the season, it's even more apparent now than before that Correa's on his way out the door. Did Correa's comments surprise you? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

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    On 9/30/2022 at 9:21 AM, baul0010 said:

    Why is Brooks 5 years away?  I think he's 21.  If he doesn't come up until he's 26, something has gone terribly wrong with his development.  But, who knows if he'll even stick at S.S.

    exactly, so a multi year deal with Correa makes great sense. Correa is so baseball smart, and his shelf life is probably longer then either Polanco, or Arraez...i see him playing 2nd, or 1st, maybe even some 3rd, in the last years of an 8 year contract.

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    On 9/30/2022 at 7:19 AM, whosafraidofluigirussolo said:

    Lee: ??  He was promoted through 3 levels of the minors and reached AA within 3 months of being drafted. He won't be ready for opening day 2023, but even in an organization that can be conservative about prospect promotions, he's going to be in the majors in much, much less time than 5 years.

    Basically agreed on Martin and Palacios.

    The Twins have been committed to playing Lewis at shortstop other than when he was in the AFL (with other SS on the roster to consider) and when they prematurely tried to shoehorn him in that super-sub role at the MLB level. They were willing to start him at SS every day when they first promoted him. I don't know that he'll stay there long term, and his knee is now a huge wild card, but if the latest surgery recovery goes anywhere near as well as the first one did, he'll get a chance to start at SS again.

    Certainly the timing of Correa opting out isn't good, with Lewis and Lee likely to be close but not ready at the beginning of 2023. IMO signing him could be a totally defensible decision and letting him walk could be too, depending on their evaluations of Lee and Lewis.

    man it's awful optimistic to see Lee being ready before 2025. Lewis can handle ss when his knee recovers but for how long? For 2023 they can either put Gordon or Polanco there, Palacios, wait for Lewis...or just sign Correa to as much of a  deal he wants and let those guys fill in where they fit in. Also the 3b job has got to stay with Urshela. That dude was just Solid all fricken year.

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    On 9/30/2022 at 7:19 AM, whosafraidofluigirussolo said:

    Lee: ??  He was promoted through 3 levels of the minors and reached AA within 3 months of being drafted. He won't be ready for opening day 2023, but even in an organization that can be conservative about prospect promotions, he's going to be in the majors in much, much less time than 5 years.

    Basically agreed on Martin and Palacios.

    The Twins have been committed to playing Lewis at shortstop other than when he was in the AFL (with other SS on the roster to consider) and when they prematurely tried to shoehorn him in that super-sub role at the MLB level. They were willing to start him at SS every day when they first promoted him. I don't know that he'll stay there long term, and his knee is now a huge wild card, but if the latest surgery recovery goes anywhere near as well as the first one did, he'll get a chance to start at SS again.

    Certainly the timing of Correa opting out isn't good, with Lewis and Lee likely to be close but not ready at the beginning of 2023. IMO signing him could be a totally defensible decision and letting him walk could be too, depending on their evaluations of Lee and Lewis.

    right!  we have no major league ready shortstop. Someone will give Correa 8 yrs, 250 mil. Why not us. Its cheap if you really analyze it. I dont think he cares about what Seager got, he wants the security. I saw him live! He's the real deal.

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    On 9/30/2022 at 6:33 AM, mac098 said:

    So you're saying that Lee is going to be 25-27 when he finally gets to the show? If that is the case, I think we need to make sure we are drafting better. Because I think that if we are drafting college players, they more than likely aren't going to be spending a lot of years down in the minors. Maybe 2-3 years, unless you get a star who is on the fast track to the MLB like Kris Bryant, where at that point you will "manipulate" their service time to earn that extra year out of them. 

    Personally I don't think that Lee is going to stick at SS. He might be better off playing somewhere else, or at the very least, tasting other positions (2B and 1B) where we might have shortcomings in our org or at our MLB depth chart. Of course, some of those shortcomings can be changed with a reduction of injuries to the players. 

    But I am gonna have to agree that the majority of our current MiLB SS aren't going to stick it there and that we need to lock him long term. Whether that means we actually gotta open the pocket-book and pay him, then that's what we gotta do. 

    24-26 and its so early to say but i bet if they tell him, Lee makes a MLB shortstop. My point is what the hell do we do while we wait?

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    On 10/3/2022 at 1:42 PM, dex8425 said:

    I would love to see them sign Correa long-term and sigh a three or four year deal with Carlos Rondon, run the rest of the team back and see how we do.

    IDK. Agree it would be wonderful to suit up both Correa and Rodon, but there are other needs too. We can't run the same guys back because they are injured quite often and can't run. The Twins need much more athletic players. Maybe your suggestion of trading some of our young pitchers would find a player. I will suggest that the Twins should be open to any movement of any players if the return creates more potential going forward. 

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    On 10/3/2022 at 1:42 PM, dex8425 said:

    Yeah, I don't think 5/200 gets a deal done but Boras probably doesn't hang up the phone....At least I hope not. Zac Gallen from the DBacks would probably qualify? Pablo Lopez from MIA?

    While I like the idea of Zac Gallen in theory, he and his UCL issues would go over in Twins Territory about as well as a used diaper on a Taco Bell menu. That is, half the patrons would recoil in terror and the other half would just accept it as being standard fare for the organization.

    Also, I thought Dior was a perfume, so most of this conversation is way over my head.

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