According to Mark Berman of Houston’s Fox 26 (Twitter Link), in a surprise move, the Twins have agreed to sign the market’s top free agent, shortstop Carlos Correa. Instead of the large long-term contract that Correa is looking for, it will sign a three-year, $ 105.3MM contract with clauses to disqualify after the first and second seasons of the contract. ESPN’s Jeff Passon adds that the contract pays रीत 35.1MM evenly distributed each year and is not front-loaded. Korea is represented by Boras Corporation.
While signing Correa, the Twins are giving him the second-highest annual value of any position player in MLB history, with Mike Trout’s दशक 36MM AAV of the decade, a विस्तार 360MM contract extension with the Angels, and a trailing $ 35MM short. AAV on a seven-year deal with Anthony Randon’s Angels. The move also gives the Twins the No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the 2012 draft, Korea and Byron Buxton, who will now be teammates for at least the 2022 season.
After removing the rest of Josh Donaldson’s contract with the Yankees, Minnesota was immediately linked to fellow free-agent Shortstop Trevor Story. Instead, more than the $ 40MM saved in that Donaldson deal will be redistributed to Korea, with the $ 105.3MM guarantee only being the largest in Joe Mauer’s twins franchise history.
Withdrawal from the contract gives Korea the final insurance net; If it stays healthy in 2022 and produces anywhere near its 2021 or 2019 level, it will definitely re-enter the market to find something on the back of a 10 year contract. If he is injured or has an unexpected downturn in the plate, he will have an additional .1 35.1MM salary in 2023 with a chance to opt out in the 2023-24 offseason.
Korea, career .277 / .356 / .481 hitter who slashed .279 / .366 / .485 (640 plate matches) in 148 games last season and second baseman George Polanko. Minnesota’s lineup is deep in talent but not consistent; Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Gary Sanchez have all had 30-homer seasons in the past, but in recent years the roller coaster performance on the plate has flowed. Third baseman Geo Ursella, bought with Sanchez in the Donaldson deal, will consider a rebound to his 2019-20 levels (.310 / .358 / .523) after playing through health issues in 2021.
Meanwhile, former top prospect Alex Kiriloff and Trevor Larnach have significant offensive limits but played with injuries in their first full look in 2021 due to injuries. Kiriloff, in particular, played through a torn wrist tendon before season-end surgery. Top prospect Jose Miranda, who posted video-game numbers in double-A and triple-A this past season (.344 / .401 / .572), is expected to make his debut in 2022 and could see time on a third base and / or designated heater. . .
All of this means that Minnesota has an in-depth and talented lineup creation, although they will need a few things to break it down properly. On the defensive side of things, Korea gave the Twins a pair of Platinum Glove winners and joined Buxton in that regard. With quality defenders like Kepler and Ursella occupying an important place on the diamond, the Twins should have an overall strong defensive team. Joining the Korean team will give the 12th-ranked team a big defensive boost, with 32 defensive runs saved last year.
However, big questions revolve around the initial rotation of the team’s patchwork. After sending Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays ahead of the 2021 trade deadline and a few days later seeing teammate Kenta Meda fall into Tommy John’s surgery, the Twins arrived in the winter when at least three experienced starters were needed to connect with the youngsters Joe Ryan and Bailey. Ober.
Minnesota has made a good start, getting Sony Gray out of the Reds and rolling the dice on the Dylan Bundy rebound, but the rotation is still low and a large chunk of the market has been captured. Twins have been linked with Athletics starters Sean Manea and Frankie Montas, and there is still some work to be done on the starting lineup. With some valuable free-agent options left, baseball operations president Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine will definitely be looking for some creative and under-the-radar options – especially now that they’re all-inclusive in 2022. Season with this Korea deal. There is a lot of pitching potential on the big league ground in Minnesota, but Korea signing is a clear win-now move that requires extra movement to strengthen both rotation and bullpen.