Carlos Correa to the Twins - 3 Years, $105 Million

The Astros stayed good because Correa stepped into the leadership role. I'll say it again, this team has zero leadership right now. We have a bunch of guys that are good players but are followers. Correa was the heart of the team. The Astros front office f***d up.

 

Astros offered $160 million. That’s more “significant” then what’s he getting now in his contract from the Twins. What if he has a career ending injury in the 3rd year of his current contract? $160 million is more then what he’s guaranteed now. He wanted more options. It’s his decision. Bye Carlos.

 

Correa was very vocal and like Springer brought great energy. But you’re overvaluing his leadership and undervaluing everyone else.

Astros will miss his bat and definitely his glove but the leadership? Eh.

 

Justin Verlander faints

 

Justin Verlander, the guy that's barely been around the last couple of seasons, that guy? lol

You think that the Yankees would have won as many titles as they did if they let Derek Jeter's leadership presence go because they already have Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera?

 

Yes...that guy

Also, Maldonado if you want an every day player.

 

Fortunately none of that matters. Baseball is a team sport where individuals must lead and compete with themselves.

 

**** Carlos Correa! He Fcuked up! Not the front office! It was his decision to leave! His ass got his ego and emotions hurt so he left. **** Him! Astros will go back to the World Series without him

 

It's weird seeing Correa in a different uniform but the Twins' signing is enough to get me to go to the home opener.
https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/...i1NgXks3LtvVYAK1uv56oafkG1GAsa2_f5sZP73oAJSJo

Carlos Correa is Here and He is Beautiful

Minnesota Twins fans are still pinching themselves in disbelief, after their always-frugal professional baseball team signed superstar shortstop, Carlos Correa, over the weekend. But the 2021 All-Star arrived in Fort Myers at the Twins Spring Training facility on Monday and officially signed his contract on Tuesday morning.

Correa has already been bouncing around the Twins training facility today, meeting with fans and coaches. The official signing press conference will take place on Wednesday morning. We’ll see if he takes the field tomorrow afternoon or if Falvine and Baldelli decide to wait until Thursday, which happens to be the next time their game will be broadcast on Bally Sports North.

Correa Makes Himself at (Temporary) Home

How much of a long-term impact can one man make in a matter of 7 months? We won’t know that answer until we get into this summer but the immediate jolt that Correa has pumped into the Minnesota Twins organization and its fanbase can be felt resonating through the air from Minnesota to Florida and everywhere in between.

From the early reports coming out of Fort Myers today, Carlos Correa appears excited to be a Twin and very willing to help teach the younger guys who will still be here after he’s gone. This morning, he’s been recorded and photographed chatting it up and giving some tips to fellow #1 overall draft pick, Royce Lewis.

 

He wanted the options every year and three years of protection against injury. Minnesota was STUPID.

Now we'll see if they're STUPID and LUCKY.

 

Spoiler

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The text hit Thad Levine’s phone at 12:20 p.m. on Friday. It was Scott Boras.

Though the message was somewhat vague, the tone was fairly direct.

“We need to talk.”

It didn’t take long for Levine, the Twins’ general manager, to recognize this was a conversation the team wanted. Baseball’s top agent doesn’t call about just anybody. He had only three prominent clients unsigned: Carlos Correa, Nick Castellanos and Michael Conforto. All were very appealing to the Twins.

After a quick consultation with Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Levine scheduled the call. In doing so, he opened the door for the biggest free-agent signing in the Twins’ 61-year history, one that shocked the baseball world and still has the industry buzzing.

Fourteen hours, dozens of exchanges, two late-night pizzas, an impromptu Zoom call and a skipped corporate dinner later, the Twins closed the deal, marking the height of the post-lockout, free-agent frenzy.

Falvey, Levine and other members of the Twins’ front office worked late into the night at the team’s spring-training offices. Boras bounced from Orange County to Phoenix to Houston during the course of the breakneck negotiations. Once the news became official on Tuesday, Correa, 27, became the highest-paid infielder by average annual value in Major League Baseball history. In far more stunning news, he also became a Minnesota Twin.

“I didn’t go to bed until after 3 a.m., and my phone started vibrating vigorously around 5,” Levine said. “Our group does a nice job of maintaining an emotional, even-keel. But when we walked out of here (Saturday morning), I think there was a recognition that something really transcended the organization in some regards, just in a sense of what (Correa) could mean to the team on the field, in the clubhouse.”

Throughout the baseball world, early-morning text threads and Twitter notifications lit up on Saturday with the news that baseball’s most prominent free agent had signed with one of the sport’s smallest-market teams. Even Twins employees who went to sleep Friday night knowing talks with the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star had progressed arose in disbelief of news of a three-year, $105.3 million deal with opt-outs after each of the first two years.

“I saw an unusual amount of text messages when I woke up,” Twins vice president of communications and content Dustin Morse said. “My mind starts racing. I was pretty sure what I thought it was going to lead to, but nobody really said what it was.

“I quickly went to MLB Trade Rumors and I see the headline. It’s pitch black and I see ‘Twins agree to a three-year deal with Carlos Correa.’ It hit me and it was literally a 15-second moment of ‘Holy ****.’”

This was a move nobody saw coming. The Twins rarely have been a destination for premier free agents. Two of the biggest free agents in franchise history, Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson, were aging sluggers in search of one final payday. No Twins player had ever previously earned more than Joe Mauer’s annual $23 million salary.

When the Twins previously spoke with Boras about Correa, they indicated they loved the player. Club owner Jim Pohlad identified Correa as one of his favorites when Falvey held an organizational meeting about the free-agent class in November.

At the same time, the Twins also acknowledged that Correa’s original ask, expected to be in the 10-year, $350 million range, wasn’t realistic for them. But the owners’ 99-day lockout altered the equation, and not simply because Correa changed agents, aligning with Boras. The sport resumed with a compressed time frame, and Correa evidently could not land the original deal he was seeking.

Falvey admits if someone had predicted at the start of the offseason that the Twins would sign Correa to a three-year contract, he would have questioned that person’s thought process.

“I’d probably ask what happened through the course of the winter,” Falvey said. “But I’d be really happy, let’s put it that way.”

The Twins’ push for Correa developed quickly on Friday afternoon at the end of a week that had trended poorly for the club.

Five days earlier, the Twins had made massive headlines.

Falvey and Levine completed three trades from March 12-13 that reshaped the club’s roster and brought much-needed financial flexibility, including shipping Josh Donaldson and his remaining $50 million guarantee to the New York Yankees. Though the Donaldson trade created a vacancy at shortstop when the Twins included recently-acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa, it also allowed them to reallocate that salary at a moment of their choosing.

At the time, the Twins had no idea Correa was an option. They instead focused on free-agent shortstop Trevor Story, believing they could make him a competitive offer.

“We didn’t have a clear-cut ‘This is where it’s going,’” Falvey said. “But (Donaldson) opened up some conversations we weren’t having.”

Early in the week, the Twins thought they had momentum with Story. Talks were centered around shorter-term deals with potential opt-outs. The Twins indicated they were open to offering four years in excess of $100 million. They also told Story he would play shortstop, a position not all of their competitors had available.

But negotiations soured late in the week when the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants entered the mix. Story made it clear he was looking for a longer deal, and ultimately received $140 million over six years with the Red Sox.

By Thursday, the Twins had grown discouraged on Story. They looked into other possibilities and discussed trading for Oakland’s Elvis Andrus, among others.

Then Boras sent his text at 12:20 p.m., and everything changed.

The Twins knew Boras would only be reaching out about Correa, Conforto or Castellanos, and prepared accordingly. With a call scheduled, medicals were requested for all three players at 1:40 p.m. Boras was in Scottsdale, Ariz., to attend Kris Bryant’s introductory news conference with the Rockies. He is based in Newport Beach, Calif., and had taken a late-night flight to Phoenix the night before.

Though the Twins hoped the conversation would turn to Correa, they weren’t about to get overly optimistic.

“One of the many intriguing attributes about Scott is, as much as we’re doing work on our side of what are the best fits for us, he does an extremely active job of trying to figure out what are the best fits for clubs,” Levine said. “We envision (his office) as like this mastermind where there are strings attached from different teams to different players and their pictures are circled on the wall.”

The call took place in the early afternoon. With Falvey and Levine talking via speakerphone, the three talked at length. Boras didn’t initially mention any names, but suggested he had a player who would be of interest to the Twins.

“’There’s a guy who fits your ballpark, fits your team, we’re talking about leadership, who may be amenable to a shorter term,’” Falvey recalled Boras saying.

Shortly thereafter, Boras mentioned the player was Correa.

“Carlos had a 1.200 OPS at Target Field — he is very comfortable playing there,” Boras said, referring to Correa’s 1.205 career mark in 70 plate appearances at the Twins’ home park. “Plus, (the Twins had) payroll flexibility and a need for a middle-of-the-lineup bat and championship-level player in their locker room for leadership.”

Back in November, Pohlad mentioned to his front office that he was especially impressed by Correa’s frequent clutch performances in the postseason. Hearing Correa may be open to a shorter deal, the Twins made it clear they were interested.

Then Boras intrigued them even more, suggesting Correa potentially would consider a contract between three and four years if the money was right.

“We both perked up,” Levine said. “This is a real opportunity.”

At that point, the sides ended the call and about a half-dozen members of the Twins’ front office huddled as a group. They weren’t sure what they had stumbled onto, but they didn’t want to squander an opportunity they were certain teams like the Houston Astros and Yankees also would pursue.

They went into scramble mode.

“At that point we shifted,” Levine said. “That’s where we literally dropped everything and dedicated the rest of the day to (Correa).”

 

Spoiler

By 4 p.m., Falvey needed a break. With an upcoming call to update Pohlad and a potentially long night of negotiations ahead, Falvey went downstairs to the team’s gym and rode a Peloton for 30 minutes, seeking, “to clear my head.”

Before he headed for the showers, a sweaty Falvey ran into Morse. Though he downplayed expectations about what had transpired with Boras, Falvey informed Morse that he and Levine were unlikely to attend a 6:30 p.m. dinner for 35 of the team’s corporate sponsors at the Hyatt Place Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Fla.

Around 5:30 p.m., Boras, Falvey and Levine got back on the phone. Falvey made the team’s first offer: Three years, $100 million, no player opt-outs.

The sides hung up and began to interact via text messages. Levine was on his iPad. Falvey was on the desktop computer in his office. They discussed parameters while waiting for Twins team physician Chris Camp and head athletic trainer Michael Salazar to examine Correa’s medical records, a process that can take up to three hours. Salazar had been with the Twins an hour up the road in Venice, Fla., for Friday’s exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves.

Around the same time, Morse, traveling secretary Mike Herman and a group of 10 players sat down with the team’s sponsors in Bonita Springs. While Falvey and Levine exchanged texts with Boras from the team’s spring-training offices, Morse and the Twins were at the corporate dinner, eating lobster, filet mignon, chicken, shrimp and asparagus,

“(Falvey) told me it’s ‘In our best interest if we stay back,’” Morse said.

Sometime in the 8 o’clock hour, members of the Twins front office realized they may be in for a long night. They also realized they were hungry and put in an order from a nearby pizza joint, Mellow Mushroom.

But before the pizza was delivered, Boras and the Twins re-engaged.

At 9:15 p.m., the sides agreed on the concept of player opt-outs for Correa. With the potential for completing a deal increasing, Falvey suggested Twins manager Rocco Baldelli call Correa. Boras, now in Houston with Correa and his wife, Daniella, instead asked for a larger conversation via Zoom. He, Correa and Daniella would participate, along with the Twins’ Baldelli, Falvey and Levine.

“Derek called me and said ‘What are you doing?’” Baldelli said. “I said, ‘Well, I’m about to go to bed.’ He said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t hold you up from going to bed unless it was a Carlos Correa Zoom.’ I went, ‘Oh. OK, whatever you need.’

“You could tell there was some genuine enthusiasm on (Correa’s) side.”

The Zoom with Correa wasn’t Baldelli’s first with a potential free agent. He often is asked to join when a deal is close to give the player a sense of the clubhouse dynamics and the overall Twins experience. Baldelli sometimes can sense when players are going through the motions on such calls. Correa was just the opposite — inquisitive, engaged, charismatic.

The Twins suspected Correa had reached out to former teammate Marwin Gonzalez for a scouting report on their organization. Gonzalez, who on Sunday signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees, confirmed that such a conversation took place, and that he gave Correa a positive review of his two seasons with the Twins.

“He called me at the last minute, just to ask me how everything was over there,” Gonzalez said. “The coaching staff was great. The front office was great. The only bad thing was the weather, but the weather lasts just one month, the first month of the season. That was it. It wasn’t much. But that’s what he wanted to know.”

Correa had specific questions for the Twins. He wanted to know about the team’s present and future plans. He inquired about family arrangements for Daniella and the couple’s newborn son, Kylo. Toward the end of the session, Boras chimed in, asking Falvey, Levine and Baldelli why they chose to leave their previous clubs for Minnesota.

“I appreciate that from Scott because that may have not been something Carlos might have been aware of that we had done that as well,” Levine said. “I think that mattered to Carlos because this was clearly a monumental shift for him leaving the only organization he ever knew.”

Once the Zoom ended, Falvey and Levine headed to a conference area to eat. A smorgasbord of pizza had arrived, including a large Maui Wowie, which consists of pesto, jerk chicken, applewood smoked bacon, ham and pineapple. The group also ordered a medium pepperoni pizza, wings and two salads. Assistant GM Daniel Adler requested a meatball hoagie.

Once they ate, a final round of waiting began. The sides were in the same ballpark financially, but hadn’t finalized terms. Even though the Twins knew they were close to pulling off the impossible, they were not quite there.

“Scott kind of commented, ‘I’ll be in touch,’” Levine said. “I think from that point forward, every minute felt like 10.”

Talks advanced soon thereafter. The Twins hit the magic number, offering to pay Correa $35.1 million each season, an average annual figure that exceeded the previous high for infielders — the $35 million the Los Angeles Angels awarded another Boras client, free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon.

Around 11 p.m., Falvey started to believe Correa would become a Twin.

“Once we started talking a little more about parameters and what that looked like both in term and potential overall commitment, it became a little more clear that we were going to be able to access the top free agent, in our minds, in this whole class,” Falvey said.

A little more than 90 minutes later, at 12:48 a.m., the sides agreed on a limited no-trade clause. At 12:49, they agreed on a deal and a minute later Falvey hopped on a call with Twins president Dave St. Peter to inform Pohlad of the news.

“I reminded (Pohlad) that he had been a champion of Correa from the very beginning of the offseason,” St. Peter said. “We chuckled about it. Jim reminded all of us that this is a big deal. Derek and I kind of laughed and said, ‘We know, Jim. It is a big deal. So thank you. We appreciate your support.’”

While Levine was still ironing out minor details, the team’s executive offices were filled with an air of disbelief. Despite the late hour, the group stuck around for 30 minutes to savor the moment.

Once he got home, Falvey had trouble relaxing.

“I got home, couldn’t go to bed right away,” Falvey said. “My brain was still working, even though I was exhausted.”

Before he fell asleep, Falvey saw news of the signing break on Twitter. Correa had informed Astros catcher Martín Maldonado of his decision earlier, prompting his now-former teammate to tweet at 12:29 a.m.: “Sorry I tried” with two crying emojis. Not long after, Houston TV reporter Mark Berman picked up on the news and confirmed the signing at 1:41 a.m..

Those who were asleep at that hour received a major jolt when they awakened later in the morning.

Morse, a Twins employee since 2006 and a fan of the team growing up in Edina, Minn., is intensely familiar with Twins history. He has been fortunate to rub shoulders with a number of Twins legends over the years, including Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew and Paul Molitor.

But given Correa’s age and shocking decision, Morse could not remember a moment that matched this one, a move that enabled the team to sell 60,000 game tickets in less than four days. He also could not get his own confirmation until an hour after he woke up, when he spoke with Falvey at 6:15 a.m.

“We are blessed with some really amazing legends,” Morse said. “(But an) in their prime, free-agent signing to come to Minnesota and really be the big name on the board, I’ve never seen anything like it. Never felt anything like it. We felt an immediate impact in our entire organization that morning. And it was so early being on the East Coast, you couldn’t even really celebrate.

“I don’t really ever believe anything until I get it from Derek. “I wish I had taped our phone call. He was pretty tired and I was pretty jacked up.”

Fourteen hours, that’s all it took. The Twins were nowhere in their search for a shortstop. They wound up in the center of the baseball universe.

 

A lot of fakin it till you makin it from Carlos in that presser. Poor kid. Well, not really poor.

 

They got the flash. Now we'll see if they got the sizzle or the fizzle.

 

Still have trouble comprehending how the Twins were the only team willing to offer that.

 

I don't. They got hyper-focused on the potential benefit and didn't fully grasp the potential cost.

Best case - One Great Season for $35M
Worst case - Three lousy seasons for $105M.
Intermediate - Three Eh! seasons for $105M or injury (w Insurance)

 

It sounds like maybe Boras guided the choice. Once the $300M+ deal didn’t materialize, Boras probably figured Correa’s best bet would be to sign for one year where he is most likely to have the best numbers. Correa’s past performance in Minnesota might have played a huge role in why Correa signed there.

I’m sure there were at least a few teams that would have been willing to offer that same deal and possibly even a moderate amount more. But Boras’ research told him that whatever the short term financial sacrifice, it would be worth it to get CC in Minny where he most projects to have the year that will earn him that $300M deal next offseason.

 

leadership matters in organized sports. that's not even debatable