Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is making his return to Houston on Tuesday night, but if his old fanbase had dreams of him putting on an Astros jersey once again, they may be disappointed.
Correa met with reporters prior to Tuesday’s game and had kind words for the organization that drafted him first overall in the 2012 MLB Draft and won the 2017 World Series. When he was asked about the chance he could return to Houston after this season, however, Correa reiterated his desire to remain with the Twins.
“I’m with the Minnesota Twins right now and the goal is to build something special with this organization and hopefully be here long term with the Twins,” Correa said. “Right now I see myself playing for the Twins for a long time.”
Correa shocked the baseball world when he signed a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins last March, but his contract came with an opt-out clause after each season.
Multiple national reports including a recent one from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman state that Correa plans to opt out of his contract at the end of this season, but his visions of cashing in this winter may have been derailed by a disappointing year.
Correa is hitting .269/.352/.431 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI in 96 games for the Twins this season and his numbers are his lowest full-season total since he hit .239/.323/.405 with 15 homers and 65 RBI with the Astros in 2018.
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His struggles also hit a new level over the past month, where he is hitting .242/.348/.379 with three home runs since July 23 (26 games).
Correa also hasn’t lived up to his expectation in the field. Although he produces highlight-reel plays on a nightly basis, Statcast logs him at three outs below the average defender this season — 25th among qualifying shortstops.
By comparison, Correa ranked sixth among MLB shortstops last season with 12 outs above average and won a Platinum Glove as the American League’s top overall defender.
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, said last month that the Twins have been impressed with Correa’s leadership in the clubhouse but have not made him a long-term offer.
That would seem to indicate Correa is destined to opt out until you take a look at next year’s free agent class which includes Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and Xander Bogaerts.
With all three players having a better 2022 season, Correa could consider opting in, collecting $35.1 million and hit the 2024 market where his biggest competition would be Tim Anderson.
All of this could become moot if the Twins sign Correa to a mega-deal between now and next winter but at this moment, the 27-year-old is saying all the right things.
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