In the end, the twins’ biggest fears, eg giants You decide to blow them out of the water, go ahead Carlos Correa A whopping 13-year contract worth $350 million USD I kissed late on a Tuesday night.
So much for this.
It is the fourth-largest contract in baseball history, trailing only deals Mike Trout ($426.5 million), Mookie Pets ($365 million) and Aaron Judge ($360 million). Korea also topped Francisco Lindor ($341 million), Fernando Tatis Jr ($340 million), Corey Seeger ($325 million) and Tria Turner ($300 million) for the largest contract ever awarded to a shortstop.
San Francisco flexed its muscles, and lunged Minnesota Step aside and landed the second best free agent in the class after being rejected by a judge last week.
Correa did exactly what the Twins expected him to do when they signed him this past spring to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with opt-outs after years one and two. was one of MLBBest shortstop, hitting .291/.366/.467 in 136 games to lead the center in OPS. He then opted out, returning to free agency at the age of 28 in search of the mega deal he failed to land last season.
What the twins were hoping for was that Correa would enjoy their seven months together so much, on and off the field, that he would see Minnesota as a viable long-term home and perhaps be persuaded to choose their contract offer over similar deals from others. , the biggest market difference. In the end, his feelings for Minnesota didn’t really matter, as the Twins weren’t particularly close on the best show.
the athleteDan Hayes mentioned The Twins’ final offer was 10 years and $285 million, topping the biggest contract in franchise history by $100 million. From the Twins’ perspective, it was a monumental and historic franchise-changing show. But from Korea’s point of view, that was still three years and $65 million less than the giants’ bid.
Carlos Correa officially dons the Twins uniform for the first time. pic.twitter.com/FsOwRZWcm1
– Aaron Gleeman March 23, 2022
If all things were equal, Korea might have stayed with the twins, but we’ll never know because not all things were equal. Not close, really. No one should blame Korea for accepting by far the best offer, from by far the most successful team, in by far the largest market. While it’s disappointing for Twins fans, it’s definitely not surprising.
It’s also hard to blame the Twins for not beating the Giants’ show, which would have likely required paying about $30 million per season to Corea in his 40s. Doing so while maintaining a mediocre payroll, as the Twins have done in recent years, would have been very difficult, and team ownership has given no indication of plans to push spending beyond average league levels.
However, it’s worth noting that the Twins apparently offered a slightly higher average annual salary ($28.5 million) than the Giants ($27 million), but were willing to do so for 10 seasons, not 13. And to do that with a show that runs through Korea’s 37 season makes sense. But is it really a big enough difference to lose it all over again?
What will the sport look like even after 13 years? How high will the league’s revenue and payroll go up? And where would $28.5 million be among the biggest salaries? Moreover, the odds of any front office still being around after more than a decade are slim. Derek Valve and company could have pushed to take Korea back at any cost and made ending the deal someone else’s problem.
Regardless of whether the Pohlad family or the baseball operations department drives them, the Twins drove along $28.5 million a season through 2032, but slammed the brakes before 2033, 2034, and 2035. Depending on your perspective, that’s either a commendable financial liability or Highly focused on a distant future in which this front office will likely not exist.
Much has been made of Correa’s inability to secure a long-term deal to his liking in the most recent off-season, which led to his agent being replaced by Scott Boras during the lockout and falling into the arms of the Twins in the middle of spring training. Later, Correa probably maximized his earnings, taking in a total of $385.1 million for 14 years, with a brief stop in Minnesota between Houston and San Francisco.
If that total of $385.1 million was one contract, it would be the second-biggest contract of all time, instead of “only” the fourth-largest $350 million. As recently as nine months ago, fans were genuinely and truly disappointed that the Twins didn’t hand out one of the most expensive deals of all time to seem like a ridiculous idea, but Correa’s arrival changed the idea of what’s possible. But only a lot.
# I grow Check out the vibe, courtesy of Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton. pic.twitter.com/oFGfnGpStY
– Aaron Gleeman June 28, 2022
Now the twins must regroup, and quickly.
If the plan centers around another superstar free agent, the two remaining options are Dansby Swanson and Carlos Rodon, both of whom have met twins. Swanson is the natural alternative as the 28-year-old is available for about half the price. Rodon has more upside as a starting linebacker, but he can cost $200 million, and this front office has never paid a pitcher more than $20 million.
It would leave twins Swanson and Rodon in a very difficult place. They’ll be their MVP from the 78-84 team, plenty of money to spend but no superstar agents to spend. They can go after the best unsigned second-rate free agents, like right-handed Nathan Ivaldi, or veteran big hitters like Justin Turner, J.D. Martinez, or Michael Brantley.
Beyond that, any big catches the Twins make would have to come via trade, costing them valuable top-roster racers coming off back-to-back losing seasons and/or top prospects from a farm system that already lost a lot of talent at the trade deadline. Treading on water is hardly enough, and now even that would require replacing Korea’s star-level production just to stay afloat.
at the beginning of the season, my review Some of the Twins’ biggest needs were, in order: starting shortstop, front line pitcher, rookie-level catcher, right-handed hitting fielder, and setup man. They fully addressed only one of the five areas, Signature Catcher Christian Vasquez was signed to a three-year, $30 million deal on Monday while Correa waited to make his decision.
Kyle Farmerobtained from reds Last month, it’s also a placeholder for soon-to-be-able Royce Lewis Ready in the middle of the season. But the Twins did not add a pitching, or a replacement platoon outfielder for Kyle Garlick. Get rid of Korea Exit and the trade you sent Geo Orchila to me Angels For a low-profile prospect in the minors, the Twins have undoubtedly lost their talent since the season ended.
To move forward in a meaningful way, the Gemini needs to add significant talents in several crucial positions, which will require some very creative maneuvering and preparation. Taking home managed volatility in trades – Corbin Burns? Zach Gallen? Pablo Lopez? Brandon Woodruff? Willie Adams? – This can be as painful and carries all the risk as it is just signing a great player on the open market.
It’s also possible that the twins will decide that taking a considered step back towards 2024 is the least bad path, but backing off from what, exactly? In six seasons under Valve, the Twins were 451-419 overall, equaling an 84-78 record per 162 games played, with no final game victories. They haven’t built enough to tear it down and rebuild it, and that could destroy the morale of their already shaky fan base.
Get value for impending free agents Kent MaedaAnd the Sonny Gray And the Tyler Mahley It would make sense for the rebuilding team, and so would the shop Max KeplerAnd the Jorge Polanco And maybe even Louis Araz. But this is a very sharp shift from making a $285 million stadium to Correa and would also make spending $30 million on Vázquez look like an immediate mistake. Paying forward is a must.
They’ve made a legitimate run at Correa, and seen most of the quality free agent replacements come off the plate before this bid even began. There are three paths left: sign either Swanson or Rodón for the big bucks, or pay the price in players by trading in for a star. Re-signing Correa was always unlikely, so the Twins must have backup plans. Now we’ll see if they can pull it off.
(Photo by Derek Valve and Carlos Correa: Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images)
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