Carlos Correa, the star shortstop who helped lead the Houston Astros to a now defunct 2017 World Series title, has found an unexpected home: the Minnesota Twins.
Instead of landing the massive long-term deal that was once predicted for him, Correa agreed to join the fast-growing twins with a three-year $ 105.3 million contract. The details of the contract were confirmed by a personal acquaintance with the negotiations, who was not authorized to discuss it publicly because it was on a physical examination.
While the deal is much smaller in length and overall value than some pre-closing deals, the benefits for Correa are clear: It has opt-outs after each of the first two years, allowing Correa to re-enter the market as soon as as of next season, and it has an average annual value of $ 35.1 million, which supplants the deal signed by Anthony Rendon of the Los Angeles Angels two years ago, which was previously the highest mark for an infielder.
Only pitchers Max Scherzer ($ 43.3 million) and Gerrit Cole ($ 36 million), and outfielder Mike Trout ($ 35.5 million), have higher average annual values in their contracts than Correa, according to Cot’s baseball contracts.
While Correa’s new team did not officially announce his arrival on Saturday morning, Correa changed the photo on his Twitter profile to one of Target Field, the home stadium of the Twins in Minneapolis.
Correa, 27, joins a team that has been revised this off-season. After an 89-loss 2021 season, the Twins front office rebuilt the team’s infield by swapping Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the Yankees for catcher Gary Sánchez and third baseman Gio Urshela. They also traded for starter Sonny Gray.
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And now the twins have grown a lot bigger, adding the top-ranking free agent of this off-season to one of the best overall players in baseball. A cornerstone of an Astros Infield that led the team to three American League pennants in five years, Correa had perhaps his best season in 2021.
He hit .279 with 26 home runs in a .850 on-base plus slugging percentage, while also leading the big leagues in defensive victory over substitution, according to baseball reference. He won the AL Platinum Glove, an annual award given to the best defenders in every league, regardless of position.
While injuries Correa sometimes slowed down during his seven years in Houston, he hit .277 with a .837 OPS and hit at least 20 home runs in five seasons. A vocal team leader, he experienced his hype as the first general choice in the 2012 draft.
Correa’s short and flexible contract with Minnesota stands in stark contrast to the one that got Corey Seager when he agreed to leave the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. Seager, a more accomplished hitter than Correa, who is a far less successful defensive player, landed a 10-year $ 325 million deal with the Texas Rangers.
The news of Correa’s departure was reverberated on Saturday morning by the Astros’ spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. First baseman Yuli Gurriel, who has been Correa’s team-mate for six years, said Correa was “very active” in sending messages to Astros players on Friday night and that Correa had difficulty sleeping, which made the big decision on his plate.
Gurriel said the Astros players were surprised and that they hoped Correa would return. He said he never imagined Correa would stop in Minnesota, but he understood the business side of the sport.
“We will miss him,” Gurriel said. “He has helped me a lot here, not only in defense, but with many aspects that I need to get better at, like sabermetry.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker said he heard his wife’s news on Saturday morning. He did not want to talk much about it until Correa’s deal was officially announced, but he said: “It’s not very pleasant news when it’s true.”
Martín Maldonado, the Astros catcher and a Puerto Rican fellow like Correa, said he talked to Correa often throughout the free agency process and visited.
“He knew after the blockade that it would be difficult to get the years he wanted,” Maldonado said, referring to the 99-day work stoppage that froze all transactions from December 2 to March 10, and many remaining free agents forced signs during a late and shortened spring training.
Maldonado said the opt-outs in the deal were something Correa “really wanted.” He continued: “He’s betting on himself again. I know he’ll go out there and have a monster year and hopefully go out into the Free Agency and reach the goal of a 10-year deal.
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