The Correa Conundrum
After declining the player option attached to his curious 3-year $105 million-dollar contract, 29-year-old All-Star and champion Carlos Correa would go on to experience an offseason like no other. Initially, the baseball world was prepared for Correa to sign with the San Francisco Giants in December of 2022. Upon a failed physical, that same audience marveled as Mets owner Steve Cohen indulged further into his hedge fund bag, extending a 13-year $315-million-dollar deal to Correa. However, those lingering issues that mutilated the deal with the Giants would ultimately lead to the Mets backing out as well. Now, nearly a month after inking his first deal of the 2023 offseason, Correa and the Twins have decided upon six years for $200 Million, finding themselves in an awkward situation with the same club Correa was trying to leave a month prior.
Since winning Rookie of the Year in 2015, Carlos Correa has arguably been the best shortstop in baseball. However, the injury which raised enough concerns to derail two franchise-record deals happened a year before that ROY season in High-A ball when Correa fractured his lower right fibula sliding into third. Since then, no lower leg or ankle injuries have kept Correa out of the lineup. In 2019 and 2020 Correa would miss a significant amount of time. However, this was due to back surgery coupled with a broken rib. Last year he missed time for a finger injury, but this was not the subject of speculation during his two wayward physicals.
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The American League is currently a tense battlefield of high rollers and young studs. The AL East is stronger than ever, claiming four teams with realistic championship expectations, and arguably the World Series favorite in the Yankees. In the AL West, Houston is as dangerous as ever coming off of their second World Series title in six years. The Texas Rangers continue to flex their pockets and further cement themselves into the conversation of contenders, by adding Jacob DeGrom and a bundle of other established veteran starters. Then there are the Seattle Mariners, last year’s sweethearts, who earned their first playoff appearance in 21 years, ending pro sports’ longest current playoff drought. The Angels will simply be mentioned because all the world wants to see Shohei and Trout in the playoffs, but history seems poised to repeat itself.
In the AL Central where the Twins reside, life is no easier than a season prior for the team that finished in third. Cleveland still remains as dangerous as ever with their top-tier pitching and the recent addition of Josh Bell. Despite a roller coaster ride of a 2022 season, the Chicago White Sox are still in a prime position to contend by adding Andrew Benintendi to one of the best on-paper rosters in baseball, despite losing Jose Abreu. With the young Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals gaining fresh prospects and more experience for their established ones, you can count on some hard-contested games all summer in the Midwest.
Meanwhile, Minnesota stayed relatively stagnant. With minor additions in Joey Gallo, Christian Vasquez and Kyle Farmer, their main blemish in pitching remains. In the next few years, the Twins will need to do whatever is possible to maximize the final years of Carols Correa’s and Byron Buxton’s primes. However, the fact that they are a small market team also comes at a disadvantage due to the fact the Twins won’t be able to compete with the deep pockets of the many teams outside just the Mets, Braves and Dodgers. This will likely mean gutting their farm system and sacrificing their future. However, with the 17th-ranked farm system in the MLB and just three top-100 prospects, it’s hard to tell what the Twins will be able to do with their limited resources.