Correa’s latest agreement is pending a physical after failing two already
The phrase “pending a physical” is usually nothing more than a formality when it comes to free agent signings, but that has not been the case with Carlos Correa. The San Francisco Giants first signed Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350 million deal, but backed out of it after his physical shed some light on complications from a past injury.
The New York Mets swooped in and immediately signed Correa to a 12-year, $315 million contract to further their offseason spending spree. However, concerns about Correa’s right leg once again led to hesitation. The contract was not signed and Correa went back to the open market.
The Minnesota Twins, who operate under much different financial conditions than a lot of MLB teams, decided to take a chance on Correa with a six-year, $200 million deal. The shorter contract length must be something that the Twins are comfortable with, especially as their team doctors are familiar with Correa and any future concerns because he was their starting shortstop last season.
Twins sign Carlos Correa
The 28-year-old batted .291/.366/.467 for the Twins with a 140 wRC+, meaning he was 40% above league average at the plate. His 4.4 wins above replacement player (fWAR) were the third-highest of his career, trailing only his 2021 and 2017 seasons. Correa was the most valuable player for the Twins in that regard, besting Byron Buxton (4.0 fWAR), who only played 92 games.
Assuming Correa passes his physical, he’ll once again join second baseman Luis Arraez, a player that the Twins may have to make a decision on soon as to whether or not they’ll sign him to a long-term extension or trade him to fill other organizational needs. Arraez was fourth in batting average last season at .316.
Minnesota Twins futures odds
The Twins are currently +5000 at DraftKings to win the World Series. They are +2200 to win the American League and +350 to win the Central Division, trailing the Cleveland Guardians at +130 and Chicago White Sox at +150.
Even with Correa in the lineup last season, the Twins went just 78-84, as they fell apart in the second half with a 28-40 record and a 10-18 mark in the month of September. The Twins scored the same number of runs (89) as the Guardians in the 19 head-to-head meetings, but Cleveland won 13 of them, as the Twins had major bullpen meltdowns far too often throughout the season and against division rivals.
Spring Training start date
With Correa (presumably) off the market, all of the top MLB free agents have been signed. Spring Training games start on February 24, with the first teams reporting to camp around February 14.
Opening Day is on March 30 and all 30 teams are set to be in action.