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  • Twins To Sign Carlos Correa


    Seth Stohs

    No, this is not a RandBalls Stu article. No satire here! According to Mark Berman, the Twins and All Star shortstop Carlos Correa have agreed to a three-year deal worth $103.5 million. The deal is believed to have opt-outs after the first two years. Also, Holy Wow! 

    Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

    Mark Berman is the sports director at Fox 26 in Houston is the one breaking the news after contact from an "MLB source."  Carlos Correa will be the Minnesota Twins shortstop in 2022. 

    There were never any rumors about the Twins having interest in the former Astros' All Star shortstop. Then as the clock passed 12:30 am in Minnesota, news broke that the Twins were the team. It is a three-year deal for $105.3 million, which is just over $35 million per year. However, he will be able to opt out of his contract following the 2022 and 2023 seasons. 

    The agreement has now been placed on twitter by Jeff Passan from ESPN. Yes, we needed to see the rumors from a second source, and then a third. 

     Carlos Correa was the first overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Houston Astros. He made his big league debut in 2015 with the Astros and was named the American League Rookie of the Year. 

    Over his seven seasons with the Astros, he played in 752 games. He has hit .277/.356/.481 (.837) with 162 doubles, 133 home runs and 489 RBI. He has twice been an All Star. 

    In 2021, he finished fifth in the American League in MVP voting after hitting .279/.366/.485 (.850) with 34 doubles and a career-high 26 homers and 92 RBI. In addition, he won the Gold Glove, his first. 

    Over his seven seasons, the Astros have made the playoffs six times including winning the (now-controversial) 2017 World Series championship. Correa has played in 79 post-season games and hit .272/.344/.505 (.849) with 16 doubles and 18 home runs. 

    It has been a great year for players taken in that 2012 MLB draft: 

    • #1 pick Carlos Correa received a three-year, $105.3 million contract from the Twins with two opt-outs. 
    • #2 pick Byron Buxton signed a seven-year, $100 million contract to remain with the Twins. 
    • #4 pick Kevin Gausman signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Blue Jays. 
    • #18 pick Corey Seager signed a ten-year, $325 million contract with the Rangers. 
    • #32 pick Jose Berrios signed a seven-year, $131 million contract with the Blue Jays. 

    Correa was the #1 ranked free agent this offseason, just ahead of Seager. Maybe following the lockout, he wasn't getting ten-year offers (like Seager) and the Twins gave him a shorter deal for a higher Average Annual salary (at $35.1 million). He will not turn 28 until September, so he could enter the free agent market next year, still very young for a free agent, and get a ten year contract, or more. Same if he plays for the Twins in 2023. And, if he plays all three seasons with the Twins, he becomes a free agent at 30 years old, still young for a free agent. 

    In addition, the Twins may only be locked into this contract for one year. If Correa is great, the Twins likely do well, and he opts out. If he does well and the Twins struggle, they could trade him (unless we hear of a no-trade clause) and get quite the haul. 

    That means that the team doesn't have to feel rushed to push Royce Lewis to the big leagues. After missing the last two seasons, Lewis simply needs a lot of at-bats. He can get those in Wichita and St. Paul this year, and he can get himself ready if he is needed. 

    The Twins were believed to be in on Trevor Story, who may also accept a short-term deal after expecting a nine-digit deal. On Friday, news broke that the Red Sox and Giants, and other teams were starting to contact him too. 

    The Twins quickly turned their intention to the top guy. Even if this is a one-year deal, it is great for the Twins. The shortstop position is covered for 2022 (and likely just the one year) by Correa. They added Sonny Gray. They are still believed to be in on the A's top starting pitchers (Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea). 

    Earlier on Friday night, many Twins fans were disappointed to have heard that Michael Pineda had signed with the Detroit Tigers. Twins Twitter got a little heated. Hopefully when Twins fans wake up on Saturday morning, they are very happy! 

    Finally, can we stop worrying about the Twins not spending available funds? Each year, this has been a concern, but they use up the budget. In addition, can the #CheapPohlads narrative finally go away!? 

    What are your thoughts, Twins fans?! 

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    1) I thought no big free agents ever come here because of the weather?  Guess if you pay 'em....they will huh?  Can we all agree to bury that talking point forever?

    2) He's no Andrelton Simmons but I think he'll be ok.  

    3) This team has a good defensive infield and has expendable players now in Arraez and possibly others who can be moved for pitching.  

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    7 hours ago, denarded said:

    There are a lot of posters over the last few days who need to be held accountable for their comments on front office/ownership and admit they were wrong. The Twins have not been as 'Twinny' the last 3 or so years. I hope this works out 

    '

    Some fair criticism is a good thing, we don't have to be duckies and bunnies.  :)  But I agree with you that people weren't willing to see the advantage of moving on from Donaldson.  Not only did we dump his entire contract (which...yes...had albatross written all over it), but we got a good fielding, younger 3B with some offensive upside.  He's also a gritty, fun clubhouse guy.  I was told repeatedly this offseason that there would be no market for Donaldson at full price, much less one that returned value.  Well, we found it.  Then we turned that savings into the best FA on the market, at a prime position of need.

    We are a MUCH better team today with Urshela-Correa than we were with Donaldson-IKF.  

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    4 minutes ago, TheLeviathan said:

    Some fair criticism is a good thing, we don't have to be duckies and bunnies.  :)  But I agree with you that people weren't willing to see the advantage of moving on from Donaldson.  Not only did we dump his entire contract (which...yes...had albatross written all over it), but we got a good fielding, younger 3B with some offensive upside.  He's also a gritty, fun clubhouse guy.  I was told repeatedly this offseason that there would be no market for Donaldson at full price, much less one that returned value.  Well, we found it.  Then we turned that savings into the best FA on the market, at a prime position of need.

    We are a MUCH better team today with Urshela-Correa than we were with Donaldson-IKF.  

    I think the relevant comparison is the current Twins vs the Twins with Correa, Donaldson, and Garver. 

    There was no state law requiring the Twins to move Donaldson before signing Correa.

    And they have the money.

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    I have been blasting the FO for the past week, partly out of well founded fear and partly out of hopes of poking the bear.  I happily retract my statements as this is a fantastic signing.   If they can get another top of the rotation starter, this team could make some serious noise the next couple of seasons and one I will fully support with my fandom, and more importantly to ownership, my wallet.

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    13 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

    I think the relevant comparison is the current Twins vs the Twins with Correa, Donaldson, and Garver. 

    There was no state law requiring the Twins to move Donaldson before signing Correa.

    And they have the money.

    I get what you are saying about losing Garver, but hanging on to Donaldson? His predicted production last year was much higher than an actual production leaving some to call him unlucky. He was not unlucky, he can't run. Good move getting out of those last 2 years. I would take Urshela and Miranda the next 2 years over Donaldson in a heartbeat.

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    2 hours ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

    Look around -- there are a lot of teams already set at SS. And a team like the Yankees generally wants to spread out the salary hit over multiple years.

    The Astros are a surprise, though. It would have pushed their payroll even higher than it's ever been, but their rumored offer earlier was 5/160. This deal is similar. Maybe Correa already considered that bridge burned?

    But hey, even for 1 year, the Twins can have some fun as the rebound boyfriend!

    Yeah I think given Correa's history with Houston 5/160 didn't sit well at least if that was the final offer.  After seeing 10\300 for similar level players that would be selling himself short IMO.  With the Twins deal he falls in line to maintain that 30M per year AAV and with the opt outs if he has a tough year next year or gets injured he is still getting 100M with chances every year to opt out and try for a longer term deal. 

    This is a sweetheart deal for Correa and probably hard for other teams to match because of the opt outs.  Hard to plan for the future when the next year the player might be gone.  While it is not an ideal contract situation for the Twins it covers their main point of risk.  Don't do long term High AAV contracts as it kills payroll flexibility especially in the end of deal dead years.  It gives this years team a much better chance to compete with a player motivated to have his best season.  It gives this team time to see what they have in younger players.  If Correa does have some weird career ending injury they only have this deal for a few years while their core is pretty young.

    It seems like a deal very few teams could live with but for the Twins it gives them a chance to do something special this year.  Lots of baseball to played and winning the offseason means nothing but this signing sure generates excitement and gives us hope for a good year this year.

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    8 hours ago, USAFChief said:

    I think the relevant comparison is the current Twins vs the Twins with Correa, Donaldson, and Garver. 

    There was no state law requiring the Twins to move Donaldson before signing Correa.

    And they have the money.

    If they were willing to spend at that level, I would much prefer Urshela plus the nearly $13m difference in salaries from this deal spent on pitching.  That’s 2 pretty darn good BP arms or a SP in trade.

    Urshela had a bad year last year but his wRC+ was almost identical (1 pt higher) than Donaldson in 2019 and 2020.  He is also a better defender at this point in their careers and not as much of an injury risk not to mention the likelihood of decline.  This only gets worse in 2023 and they have a 16M option for 2024 with an 8M buyout.  I will take Urshela, the money to use elsewhere, and the risk mitigation all day long.
     

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    9 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

    Did a double take when I saw the headline. It doesn't matter if Correa is using the Twins to reset his value, it's a great deal for at least this season. I hate the opt outs, but he was never committing to a deal of this length without them. 

    Basically....a one year deal is all anyone was getting out of Correa.

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    I like this deal for the following reasons:

    -improved defense and lineup for this year

    -doesn’t block our younger shortstop players giving them time to mature

    -probably no dead money due to deal length and his age

    -if we have a bad 2022, we can turn him over at the deadline (haven’t heard about any no trade clause)

    -allows Urshela to to play at his strongest position

    Overall, I give the FO an A on this move. Now, make it worth while by getting another front-line SP and a RH closer.

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    A wonderful signing. Correa is a shortstop.

    This is all so confusing .... when you look at the Twins roster on November 1 and then compare it to March 17, it is difficult to comprehend what was going to be a positive outcome.

    About a week ago I had heard that Story was not interested in the Twins unless there were two strong additions made to the roster. Today we learn that Correa had used WAR to ask one team where they were going add to become competitive. BP and Fangraphs had the Twins around 80-84 wins this season, which meant that Correa could see a light going to Minnesota. This was not on anyone's radar. I have not heard nor read a single link (0%) connecting Correa and MN. This completely changes the course of this season. Correa is a tough out and has a beautiful glove.

    A question which has dogged me all winter and returned pretty much zero interest from those on Twins Daily has been the eventual budget for the Twins. I initially believed that $140-150 million was a solid number that built in a decent profit for the franchise. TD used $130 million. The recent moves, suddenly, made me question all previous speculations. This was particularly true because all of the free agents that would cost any money were gone and there was the whispering that Story had pushed the Twins aside. Correa was not in any iteration .....

    .... until today and this is wonderful. 

    Next? This signing, much more than if Story had been signed, opens up any number of options. Yes, Montas and Manaea are still being talked about, but the Twins could still entice the Reds, Marlins, Orioles, or another team with various offers. One pitcher could make a huge difference and two could mean fun comes to Target Field. The Correa addition means that the next move might be impossible to predict as well, but also mean that the Twins feel comfortable pushing their budget beyond $130 million. 

    Correa, as someone else wrote, is a sugar boost. I love sugar.

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    Correa's character? Did he get accused by 23 women of assault?

    The best time I had last year was booing the Astros until my throat was sore., and was quite proud how loud Target Field booed them as well.

    But serious, his character makes this a terrible signing? You better be careful falling off that soapbox.

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    Just now, Mike Sixel said:

    Same. Mostly I'm happy for the team and it's fans. 

    I know ... after my initial 'Holy ****!' comment when I first woke up and read the news, the next was to get online and find out when the Twins will be in town to buy tickets ... because, whatever happens ... watching Buxton AND Correa will be good times!

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    This is a financial aspect to this contract that I haven't yet seen explored.  But that's for another day, or maybe another hour if I get antsy.  For now: woo hoo!  We're in Win Now Mode and I like the feeling.

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    5 minutes ago, ashbury said:

    This is a financial aspect to this contract that I haven't yet seen explored.  But that's for another day, or maybe another hour if I get antsy.  For now: woo hoo!  We're in Win Now Mode and I like the feeling.

    What financials?  Correa will opt out so that Boras gets full pay for his next deal.  The Twins will just have a chance to convince him he can win here and pay the piper to keep him.  If things go south?  Trade him as a high end rental at the deadline.  He hits FA next year no matter what.

    The FO had a budget to work under (as they all do....newsflash for some of our more persistently, purposefully naive posters) and turned theirs into a better roster since the end of the lockout.

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    3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

    He might not.  Think through the worst case.  There's no such thing as a bad one-year contract.  This isn't one year.

    Except it really is.  If Correa opts in his old agent gets paid and not Boras.  That isn't happening. 

    But I'm totally fine with the one year.  It's hard for this to be an utter failure unless Correa gets a massive injury.

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    Great signing Twins.  Totally unexpected!  Well done.  We could have signed 2-3 starting pitchers for what they are paying him for one year.  I'm hoping we still have something left to sign/ or trade/ to get more pitching.  The twins overall pitching is suspect and except for a couple, is not a major league starting staff.  Have to assume if they are paying Correa $35 million for likely one season they must be looking to improve the pitching staff.  If not, what's the point?  It is great though to finally make a  significant signing.

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