Begging Forgiveness, But Personally, I Have To Examine Correa One More Time

[Richie the Rally Goat]

On 11/3/2022 at 10:38 AM, Squirrel said:

I don't think this will hamstring them for years to come for many reasons. They have the wiggle room this year, they have a lot of young players with team control for several years, and they get to sign a new media contract after next season. Now is the time. If we only play for the future we will always be playing for the future.

Potential SS are not MLB awesome SS and won't necessarily become MLB awesome SS and may never even become MLB SS. Every SS drafted is only a SS until they aren't. Lewis has basically been out of baseball for a couple of years due to pandemic and injury. Up until last year, many thought that he wouldn't stick at short. He certainly isn't going to fill that void next year and who knows years to come. Yes, Lee has done great so far in the minors. In the  minors. He certainly looks like a player who might stick at short and be something, but that isn't going to be next year. And we have seen it so many times how that doesn't necessarily translate and more often then not, SS prospects are moved to other positions. Signing Correa doesn't block them. Either they change positions or are traded to fill another hole. 

A World Series in ‘23 would certainly give that media contract some leverage for the Twins, wouldn’t it?

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

A World Series in ‘23 would certainly give that media contract some leverage for the Twins, wouldn’t it?

Gotta spend money to make money :) 

[PatPfund]

Signing Correa to a long massive contract would be a massive mistake. I loved having him on the team this year, but it was essentially proof that having one of the best all-around team-mate/fielding/hitting shortstops in MLB didn't keep this team from being not very good in a weak division. They simply have too many other needs, and the massive contract will keep them from addressing those needs.

This isn't only a Twins issue; I put (again) the question to all those who want to sign Correa: When was the last World Series champion with a big money shortstop?

I've been through the past decade-plus, and can't find one. I don't think it is a fluke; building a balanced roster means strategic spending, and shortstop is a position that likely peaks either in the arbitration years of a player's career, or shortly thereafter. The resources to retain a player like Correa are simply more strategically spent elsewhere, particularly if you are a mid-to-small market team. None of the final four teams this year got to the LCS with a big-dollar SS (San Diego had one, but he was suspended through their playoff push and early playoff success). Houston (spending money on pitching and other locations) let Correa go, and is on the verge of a championship.

Again, I was a fan of the signing and Correa's play/impact, but you can even make an argument the Twins would have been better this year without him (Lewis comes up earlier, and maybe doesn't get hurt, though that is a big maybe).

I'm not a big fan of re-running 2022 when signing a top SS made only a marginal improvement to our record. Let's tip our cap to Carlos for the time served, and spend our money on areas where we both have need (#1 SP, catcher, outfield), and where there is a history of top free agents having championship impact on teams.