Last weekend, the Minnesota Twins made the biggest surprise move in club history when they agreed to sign superstar shortstop Carlos Correa to a 3-year, $105 million contract. As many of this front office’s moves have been, this development was done in the shadows of the night. It’s almost like mega-agent Scott Boras approached Derek Falvey via a ransom note with cut-out magazine letters.
“iF yOu WaNt tO ImPrOvE yOuR tEaM By fIvE To sEvEn wInS, CaLL mE.”
When word got out on Twitter that Correa had agreed to a deal, it got the night owls’ heads spinning and the early birds thinking they were living in a fever dream.
Once everyone got their head straight and realized this was reality, Correa was a Twin.
As currently constructed, the deal gives Correa the option to opt out of his contract after this season and next. But no matter what happens, it’s hard for anyone in Twins Territory to deny this reality as a dream come true. The most likely scenario would have the superstar reentering the free-agent market next off-season. If that is the case, the Twins will want their young players to sop up as much from their new superstar as they possibly can.
The Twins are in an interesting spot in their competitive window. They are ready to make a push for the American League Central crown in 2022, but they have even more exciting irons in the fire for the future. The much-anticipated debuts of top prospects such as Royce Lewis and Austin Martin are surely coming soon, and both have a dimming shot to be Correa’s eventual replacement at shortstop.
While many evaluators believe Lewis and Martin will eventually move off of the premier position, they are still going to get their shot in the minor leagues this year. Sure, their recent bodies of work (or lack thereof) indicate that a position change is to be expected. Still, neither has had a mentor like Correa in their respective professional careers.
It’s easy to envision the conversations between Correa and Lewis. By all accounts, both players were drafted first overall out of high school, have a profile that projects strong offensive and defensive play, and have bright leadership qualities.
Lewis’ star has faded because he has missed the last two seasons, but he is still a key component to the Twins’ future plans. They must get him back on track this year. He needs momentum to propel him to the big leagues, or even as a trade chip if it comes to adding an impact player in the near future. Regardless, he needs to get his feet under him in 2022.
Correa’s tutelage would be a welcome development. Not to say that the coaching staff can’t help Lewis in his development, but sometimes a star player’s voice resonates more than a coach’s ever could.
As for Martin, the biggest concern in his skillset seems to be his power output. Evaluators still think he is bound to develop more pop, but so far, his slugging capacity has trailed his incredible on-base skills. But Correa never reached double-digit home runs in a season until he made it to the major leagues in 2015. He would go on to hit 20 or more home runs in each year of his MLB career except for 2018, when injuries limited him to 110 games and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Correa’s insight might be able to resonate with Martin and talk through some of the changes in approach and swing mechanics that led him to this point. Will that jump-start Martin’s power development on its own? Of course not. But the Twins should be thrilled if he can learn from the American League’s best slugging shortstop for a few months.
Correa’s impact could also positively affect the club’s young pitchers. With Sonny Gray, Dylan Bundy, Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, and Joe Smith acting as the only established veteran pitchers on staff, there is a huge class of young arms who could use all the insight they can get. The Twins haven’t brought in too many free-agent hitters who can sit down with the pitching staff and say, “this is what I’m looking for as a hitter” or “here are some situations where you should go with something else.” Nelson Cruz was definitely somebody who did that in his time with the Twins. But Josh Donaldson came off as somebody who preferred to stick to their own drama, maybe leading to a less cohesive clubhouse. After that, there haven’t been too many offensive additions with this core of Twins players.
With a probable departure after this season, Correa can focus on creating a teaching opportunity for the young players while also playing for his next big contract. Though his stat line may only show his results for this one year, hopefully, his creation of a winning culture can have an intangible, lasting effect for years to come.
