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

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.

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. 

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?

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.

He can opt out - can the Twins?