While you are asleep, at 1:51 a.m., Jeff Passan tweeted the news every MLB fan has been waiting for since November. Carlos Correa is officially off the Free Agent market, signing a three-year, $105.3 million dollar contract with the Minnesota Twins, which also includes opt-outs after the first two seasons.
The signing was unexpected, wild, random and everything in between. Who would have thought the game’s best SS, arguably, would go and play for a non contending team? Especially a team like the Twins, who aren’t a big market team compared to other suitors in the Yankees, Astros, Cubs and more.
The Twins must have known something that us MLB fans didn’t, and all the dominos fell for them perfectly to let them acquire the star SS. They started it all by trading Mitch Garver for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez, fleecing the Rangers looking back at it. Then, they saw their opportunity to steal Correa from the Yankees. they just needed to free up some money. So, they trade Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees, making the Yankees pay roll situation worse and also removing their needs for a SS. Making the Yankees no longer a potential suitor.
The Twins then also took advantage of Correa’s #1 want. Getting paid. Not for 10 years and some crazy number, but to hold the record AAV for infielders. The Twins were willing to do it, and no other team wanted to give him that sort of contract. If you’re a large market team, you want Correa for 5+ years, but you also don’t want to give him more than $35 million AAV. All of this created a perfect storm, for the Minnesota Twins to swoop in and steal Correa.
The Twins are still not impressing me by any means though. Their roster is not strong by any means, and even with an extended postseason it’s going to be hard to see this team make a Wild Card push.
A rotation led by Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy and Kenta Maeda, is not going to fare well in a division with some solid offensive teams. The bullpen is weak, besides Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey, there is not many very good things to say about the pen. The lineup is definitely the strength for this team, with the likes of: Gary Sanchez, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Gio Urshela, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and more.
Overall, the move is shocking. I expect the Twins to definitely be better than last season, as they have made plenty of upgrades. But I don’t expect the Twins to be able to compete with the White Sox for the AL Central.
Responses
Huge signing!