Kevin Correia leaving money on the table...

Q&A with Twins GM Terry Ryan: Kevin Correia 'left money on the table' | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Twins

Excellent interview from Doogie (I'm sure there was already a post linking this article, but I'm trying to get specific with a question):

From the article:

Why two years and $10 million? Couldn't you have gotten him for one year?
We weren't going to get him.
So, you need to overpay free agents to get them here?
No. He left money on the table.
That surprises me.
He left money on the table. It is as simple as that. The market has gone up.
Correct. Anibal Sanchez's contract (five years, $80 million with Detroit) surprised me.

My question:
Ok, who made him a better offer or multiple better offers (if there were other teams)? What offers did he get? Did he get a multi-year offer from another team ... say 2 years 12 million for example?

If he got a better offer elsewhere, why did he want to come here?

I'm sure none of us will ever know, but I'm very curious to the answer of these questions.

Anyone want to venture a guess?

Were Terrys lips moving when he said that?

GM's are not going to give an extra year away for the hell of it. I didn't like the 2nd year but there was a reason for it and he just explained why.

As much as everyone likes to jump on TR for things. The price of a FA is set by how much others are willing to pay. Trades don't happen simply because you covet a player on another squad. Both GMs have to agree on all trades. Players don't always perform as expected and everybody can watch a player and come to a different conclusion. It doesn't mean he's an idiot if he sees it differently.

TR probably offered more money himself and Correia showed mercy and left some of it.



.

He is so full of sheet! He got Correia and Sanchez mix up. He paid for the wrong guy why won't he admit that? Cheap....

What I don't get is that the price of pitching went up at the bottom/mid tiers and not so much at the top. Greinke's contract was a bit high, but no one should have been surprised at what Sanchez and Jackson got... on the bottom end, you got guys like Baker and Correia who wouldn't have gotten 3M last year getting much much more.

Correia probably had a minutely higher first year base and an option/buyout for a second year. Or maybe two years at $4 and $5 million. We will never know. Quite simply, an agent has to say "we are mulling offers competitive to yours" and "willing to listen again if you modify your offer." Happened with Sanchez...who pushed up the Cubs to as high as they would go until the Cubs realized they were just increasing the cost the Tigers would play and they would never get him. Of course, if the Tigers passed, the Cubs would be stuck.

But, my overall impression is that Ryan is looking at an ancient world when dealing with the free agent market this year, combined with his couple of lowend victories last year (Doumit, Willingham, and, in a sense, Zumaya and Marquis) and not wiling to blow anyone out of this world. I think he might've overpaid for Pelfrey for one year, who is going to pitch his heart out to get a multi-year deal in his next round.

And then we have Francisco Liriano. Ho, in their right mind, would give a guy who might end up being a reliever a two-year deal. He's a headcase. He doesn't have to pitch next year. He doesn't have to pitch for two years (shades of Cristian Guzman).

Sad that the Twins didn't offer up on Goz or Lannan, they could use another lefty. Saunders is still out there. Would like to see then at least add Myers at this point. We can only dream that Marcum would come here...but would the Twins offer 3-4 years...to carry over into the rebuilding era?

He may have left money on the table seeing the Twins as a place where he is likely to be a starter for the entirety of his contract, and thus able to secure a better contract in 2015 than if he were shunted to the bullpen.

If he went to a team that offered him more money but would have likely used him out of the bullpen much of the time due to prospects knocking on the door or perhaps an abundance of other #4/5 type guys, his next contract, if any, might have been substantially smaller. The Twins clearly don't have much in the way of pitching competition right now, and the chance Correia ends up not being a starter is pretty small.

Just a guess.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by diehardtwinsfan

What I don't get is that the price of pitching went up at the bottom/mid tiers and not so much at the top. Greinke's contract was a bit high, but no one should have been surprised at what Sanchez and Jackson got... on the bottom end, you got guys like Baker and Correia who wouldn't have gotten 3M last year getting much much more.

---

I think the lesson learned is demand is demand... The quality of the supply doesn't seem to change the demand and the prices go up.

I think the only way you can avoid paying these type of prices is to grow your own. Keep that Farm Pipeline churning. The minute it stops producing... you gotta get the wallet out. .

I've been a little shocked by the prices this year across the board... But I'm frugal by nature.

I really want the new 2013 Dodge Dart Limited... The Customizable Dash and 8.4 inch touchscreen is exactly what I'm looking for in a car because I assume the engine will work and I don't know what to do about it if it doesn't... No matter how much I like it... I'm gonna wait for someone else to buy it and drive it around and lower the price for me.

Thats right... I admit... the Dodge Dart is too expensive for me. That kinda eliminates me from be a decent judge on the price of Free Agents. All the contracts are shocking me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 70charger

Just a guess.

---

A reasonable one.

Taking a stab at my own questions here:
Correia was able to get a two year deal by being "durable" last year (Ryan did say Correia would have gotten 200 plus innings had he not been demoted to the pen by the Pirates twice). Your Baker's and Pelfrey's weren't going to get anything over a year due t o TJ surgery. Lannan wasn't getting anything over a year due to being in the minors. Correia's agent looked at the market and knew durability durability might be key this offseason (as was for Blanton and will most likely be for Saunders too).

Bring in the Twins. As others said, Correia may have signed elsewhere and risked being demoted to the pen or even the minors. Some other teams might be able to afford signing a big money pitcher and making them a reliever or minor league depth no matter what the cost. The Twins won't do that. Correia saw Minnesota as a sure place to start, which probably made this offer the best to him regardless if there was more money on the table. The Twins had a ton of openings in the rotation, the medical staff can't keep pitchers healthy, there are a ton of question marks with the quantity of pitchers the Twins have competing for starting spots (Worley comes here with injury probs, Diamond had minor surgey, Pelfrey is returning from TJ, same for Gibson with an innings count, Harden is a huge medical worry, and the other starters already are over-matched), and Correia probably was the first to bite on the Twins offers (since they had multiple offers out there) to assure himself a spot in the rotation. Correia knows the Twins need starters to fill innings and guarantees himself a starting spot, his turn in the rotation out of the Twins' desparation, and a paycheck over his value to the team (plus two guaranteed years of these assurances).

Smart work by Correia and his agent if my theory is accurate.

And then may I add, gives Correia enhanced value for 2015 as 70charger said (which helps him get a new deal no matter his value since he had two years starting in the AL no matter how he does)... Maybe the Correia mystery is solved?

Spin baby spin.

I think JR meant that Correia literally left money on the table when he and his agent went out to dinner with him to talk contract terms. Having dined mostly with the Pohlads, JR was confused at this, not knowing it was called a "tip" by the masses.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheLeviathan

Spin baby spin.

---

That turd isn't going to polish itself!

I am hoping that the FO sees something that we do not, but will be angry of Correia is a total bust as many of us have predicted.

So what that quote means is someone offered a one year six million dollar deal and Correia told the Twins I want two years and I'll take five per. Ryan should have told him to get lost.

You guys crack me up. You realize all somebody has to do is as Correia why he came to Minnessota and if he left money on the table. Why would TR lie about something that is so easy to verify.

Do we have nothing better to do than rip TR every time he makes a public appearance?

Well, it's almost a certainty that he'll get demoted to the bullpen again when he posts a 6.50 ERA. I was really hoping Terry Ryan and the Twins would be done with crap signings like this. Cole De Vries or Sam Deduno excite me much more than Correia.

Brewers signed RHP Jim Hoey to a minor league contract.

The 29-year-old right-hander compiled a 5.47 ERA, 1.91 WHIP and 14/13 K/BB ratio over 24 2/3 innings in his last big league exposure with the Twins in 2011. He'll compete for a middle relief role in the Brewers bullpen.