Carlos Correa Trade Buzz Is Heating Up

[Nick Nelson]

New York media is pondering the availability of Minnesota's star shortstop. Sadly, it's fair game.

Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

On Saturday, the New York Post published a column from Joel Sherman suggesting the following premise: "Yankees, Mets should test Twins’ waters for possible Carlos Correa trade." He proposes that both teams explore the possibility of acquiring Minnesota's All-Star shortstop, two years into a historic contract signed in 2023.

Sherman's reasoning comes together like this:

• "Structurally, the Twins don’t work." Their core trio of Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis is too injury-prone to elevate the team.
• "Financially, the Twins don’t work well." Too much of their now-limited payroll is invested in Correa to properly build around him.
• Correa's contract and checkered availability make much more sense for a big-market team with more robust resources than the Twins.

Interestingly, the article includes a quote from Derek Falvey in which he directly addresses the topic, acknowledging that the Twins have "been hit" in the past with trade interest on Correa, as well as Buxton and Lewis, while conspicuously not ruling out anything out.

“If they came at us, we’re open-minded to anything,” the Twins president of baseball operations shared. “Obviously Carlos has a full no-trade clause. We love him. We’re always open-minded when team teams hit us on all of our players. We’ve been hit on Carlos before, we’ve been hit on Byron [Buxton] before, we’ve been hit on Royce [Lewis] before. That’s not shocking to anybody, but we hold an extremely high bar to even start that conversation, and I still feel like those guys are critical to our success.”

It might be temping to pass this off as a New York writer stirring up attention with the classic "I want that" declaration coveting a small-market star. However, that quote from Falvey was anything but dismissive. I will note that Sherman's been around quite a while and is fairly plugged in. Moreover, it's not hard to accept the logic behind either NY team being interested in Correa.

The Yankees came just short of winning the World Series, with a lineup that could greatly benefit from one more star hitter (and fielder). The Mets, of course, had an agreement with Correa fall through when he was a free agent, but their dream of playing him alongside Francisco Lindor could still be in play. As Sherman notes, the amended offer to Correa from the Mets (6 years, $157 million) was not too far off from what he ultimately got from the Twins.

I can also, sadly, see the logic of trading Correa from Minnesota's perspective, given the circumstances. There's no way around it: his guaranteed contract over the next several years is a major impediment for a front office now obliged to keep payroll in the $125 million range. As salaries escalate across the roster in arbitration, it will grow increasingly difficult to keep the talent core together and maintain a club capable of competing when Correa is absent – a reality that by now must be planned around.

With that said ... This would be so depressing from my view. The signing of Correa was a signature moment in franchise history; the moment that Minnesota finally rose to the occasion and paid the freight for a premier superstar in an emphatic commitment to winning. Dumping that contract to a New York-based team two years later would completely undo its impact while bringing back to the surface every negative connotation associated with this team. As a fan, it would be exceedingly difficult to stomach, making you wonder what was even the point.

The Twins and Yankees do have recent history of creative salary-relief trades. It was the unloading of Josh Donaldson in 2022 that opened the door for signing Correa to begin with. And that worked out well enough for Minnesota. But trading Correa would rightfully be received very differently from trading Donaldson, who was an underperforming malcontent. 

Correa has delivered in his first two years as a Twin, leading them to a playoff advancement in 2023 and playing at an MVP-caliber level on when on the field in 2024. He is critical to any legitimate hopes of World Series contention in 2025. It's almost impossible to envision a Correa trade that actually makes the team better, and giving him away as a pure salary dump in the name of right-sizing payroll would be damningly pathetic.

I know where I stand on this topic, but I'm curious to hear from you all. What's your temperature on trading Correa? How open should the front office be to these kinds of proposed inquiries from clubs that might be better equipped to absorb his contract? Let's hear from you in the comments.

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[HerbieFan]

As a life-long Minnesota sports fan, this, sadly, seems like the only possible outcome.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

The fanbase might mutiny of Correa gets traded.  We are talking mid-90's apathy here.

If the Twins made this trade and went into full rebuild mode, the timeline to exit that mode might be 5-7 years.  Not a great look for a team beginning a new media rights contract.

[umterp23]

A trade like this all comes down to optics.  Does it get categorized as a salary dump or a mega deal of Correa for 3, 4 or 5 parts to the puzzle of having high quality at multiple positions of need.  Not opposed to the idea and while yes he was good in '24, he was good for barely half the season on the field.  

Open to any and all trades that could give the team financial flexibility, but that has to mean they will invest dollars in new assets and not pocket the financial gain of such salary traded.

Not sure we win in any of these scenarios

[jorgenswest]

If they can trade Correa and end up a better 2025 baseball team then make the move. I suppose that is possible but it won’t happen with a return of minor leaguers and replacing his salary with three mediocre players on team friendly contracts.

I will add that the Twins were 42-43 in Correa’s 85 starts.

[Schmoeman5]

The Mets amended offer of 6 years for 157 million wasn't too far off? I guess 43 million is peanuts. Falveys statement of a really high bar is just a way of him saying that whoever wants Correa needs to take the rest of his contract as well. That's 4 more years at roughly 130 million. New York. Perfect place for him. I'd do it just to hear the reception he gets from Twins fans when they play. Haha

[DocBauer]

I won't say Sherman is all wet. What he states and the reasons he states them are part of a well thought premise. But I believe that's all it is. Not only does Correa have a no trade clause, but Sherman is including BOTH NY teams as a general conception, not a specific team. (IF I'm understanding his article correctly). So this sounds like spitballing to me.

As to Falvey, he's always seemed very consistent to me in situations like this on that he basically says "never say never" but always makes obvious statements like "we'd always listen, but any offer would have to be "X" before we'd even begin conversations". And that's pretty much what he said here again.

Add it all up, I think this is much ado about nothing. 

Now, if Correa suddenly doesn't like the direction of the team and the proposed/impending sale and ASKS for a trade.....

[Richie the Rally Goat]

37 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The fanbase might mutiny of Correa gets traded.  We are talking mid-90's apathy here.

If the Twins made this trade and went into full rebuild mode, the timeline to exit that mode might be 5-7 years.  Not a great look for a team beginning a new media rights contract.

Agreed, but the new media deal is exactly why the discussion is ongoing.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I won't put anything past the Pohlads at this point. I'm soooooooo ready to move on from them.

[chpettit19]

I have the same thoughts on this as I do on the idea about trading Lopez, if you're going to do it it needs to be for MLB ready/current MLB players. I can absolutely see the logic in it from a budget standpoint, but finding a deal that's not going to make the 2025 team worse is the key. If you're going to make the team worse just to save money then blow it up and start over. I want nothing to do with trading for prospects that aren't expected to be part of the 2025 MN Twins.

[wombat28]

Is this conversation even relevant with the team up for sale? Maybe the new owners will be big spenders, nobody knows.

[DJL44]

What's coming back? I doubt the proposed trade is Volpe for Correa. Would the Mets give up Ronny Mauricio?

[Doctor Gast]

With Falvey at the helm, it's hard to know what to do. Falvey was bound & determined not to sign platinum glove, fan-favorite Buxton, to satisfy big market teams by trading him, But fortunately, the Pohlads intervened & signed him to a team-friendly contract, Falvey signed Donaldson & to unload him Twins took a big hit. Falvey wanted to sign Story but fortunately, that didn't work out & Correa fell into their laps. 

Falvey scares me, he screws a lot of things up. Sometimes he gets lucky but IMO his luck has run out. For Falvey to be creative is to throw logic out the window. His creative thinking took a Division champs & postseason contender into a 4th place in the AL Central. I'm afraid that he'll lead us down the same path as the Rockies & CWS. I don't put it by him to continue dismantling the core that brought postseason success because he's not able to initiate an important & viable trade. 

There isn't anyone in NYY or NYM that the Twins need but leave it to a big market team to talk him into something. I used to love the offseason but the resigning of Falvey, I have lost all hope that the Twins will do what they need to do & become frustrated by them doing what they shouldn't.

[Wizard11]

@ Dr Gast….Your narrative is Falvey didn’t want Buxton but the Pohlads made him sign him?…any particular evidence for this?

[Seth Stohs]

Gotta make that phone call... and if so, gotta start the conversation with Luis Gil... and then you ask for Jasson Dominguez and "settle" for either Spencer Jones or George Lombard... and then add two flyers from the lower levels. 

[Nick Nelson]

25 minutes ago, wombat28 said:

Is this conversation even relevant with the team up for sale? Maybe the new owners will be big spenders, nobody knows.

No guarantee the team will be sold at all, much less by any given point. For now we need to operate under the assumption that payroll remains static at best.

[Nick Nelson]

2 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

Gotta make that phone call... and if so, gotta start the conversation with Luis Gil... and then you ask for Jasson Dominguez and "settle" for either Spencer Jones or George Lombard... and then add two flyers from the lower levels. 

Trading Luis Gil to get Jake Cave and then trading Carlos Correa to get Gil back would be a really funny trade tree.

[Nick Nelson]

25 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

What's coming back? I doubt the proposed trade is Volpe for Correa. Would the Mets give up Ronny Mauricio?

I don't think the premise is that you'd be getting back much at all, aside from the flexibility to use that money in other ways. Which is why I hate it. The example shared by Sherman in his article was basically to send back a couple lotto tickets in exchange for Carlos Correa and his contract, similar to the Giancarlo Stanton trade. Blech.

[Reptevia]

If they trade Correa, will the payroll be more, the same or less than last year. Uh-huh. I thought so.

[Cory Engelhardt]

This is gross and disappointing. I just can’t see this happening

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, wombat28 said:

Is this conversation even relevant with the team up for sale? Maybe the new owners will be big spenders, nobody knows.

The only reason we’re having this conversation at all is because the team is up for sale. Moves made this offseason won’t be about roster construction. It will be about cleaning up financials for the new ownership group. 

[GNess]

It might make sense to some, but not to me. Signing Correa was an "Un-Twins" like act which brought a new energy to the team.  Sadly moving him in a trade the Twins are likely to lose seems very "Twins-like".

Second point: Teams typically need superstar level players to seriously and consistently contend for a Championship. Are the Twins restrained from ever obtaining such players in a manner other than drafting them? Trading Correa would speak directly to this point.

 

[rdehring]

Have been pleasantly surprised by how well CC played this year.  And find his defense, mostly arm, amazing.  With that said, his $35M makes it nearly impossible to get the remaining parts to be a legit contender.

If they would trade him, they have to get value in return.  Do they need a young shortstop?  Or are they ok with one of Lewis, Lee or Keaschall at short?  I don't know if any of that trio is good enough in the field to be that guy.  But they certainly have three young players who project to be good to very good big leaguers for the three infield positions.  And that doesn't include Julien.

As long as Falvey gets value for value in return, this may be the one move that puts the Twins back into contention.  Well this move and much of the team hitting in September like they did the first four months of the season.

[T.O.]

In 22 Correa played well enough to get into the All Star game then went into a long slump, only becoming productive in Septemeber after the Twins were out of contention and he was looking to sign a big deal with another team.

In 23 he played good defense with his PF but the hitting was awful to sometimes mediocre. His specialty was hitting into double plays.

In 24 he sometimes had clutch hits and sometimes breathtaking defense but nothing $33,000,000 worth. The talk of the "leadership" he provides I question.

"He is critical to any legitimate hopes of World Series contention in 2025"
That's not going to happen with the players they have now. If owners are going to continue to be stingy they will need some money to get some players.
LET HIM GO. He is not a "Value Added" player.

 

[tony&rodney]

If .... if Correa was traded, forget about any player of any interest coming back to the Twins. Then .... the real dilemma begins. Who plays shortstop? There isn't really anyone in the organization who can play shortstop at close to Carlos Correa level. Now if the argument is that Correa is always injured and we compare the next guy to Willi Castro ..... sure, that makes some sense. No, Brooks Lee is not an MLB (Correa) quality shortstop. Full stop. So the argument is must be that the Twins are looking to replace Willi Castro and not Carlos Correa, assuming he is injured most of the time.

In lieu of the article and conversation yesterday on how the Twins pitchers have "suffered" with the guys playing defense behind them, it is ironic to consider reducing the quality of turning outs into outs instead of watching the ball bleed through the dirt. 

Look, we all have out thoughts and mine is that poor defense and the lack of team speed reduces the Twins to being a slightly above average team at best (79-87 wins) if everything else goes perfectly. Trading Correa and/or failing to upgrade the defense is a recipe for mediocrity. Then again, I have zero belief in Derek Falvey and his ability to craft a roster, which makes my thoughts easy to dismiss for those who see Falvey as a decent administrator. 

[CRF]

I'd be supremely pissed if they get rid of C4...and I'm 100% sure I wouldn't be the only one out here. Trade Buxton. 

[Jim wyllie]

Logically speaking I don't necessarily see the Yankees or Mets rushing to make trade for Correa.  The Yankees will be focused and pursuing resigning Soto.  As for the Mets they have a shortstop and may not be in a hurry to take on another big contract.  And let's not forget many teams are likely to reduce payroll this off season as tv money disappears, and it would hurt the sale value of the team to trade Correa right now, however I'm open to trading buxton as his value may never be higher and he might bring back a couple pieces and could inexpensive be replaced by Cedric Mullins until e-rod is mlb ready.

[Doctor Gast]

Instead of the core slowly suffering the bleeding cuts from last season & more cuts planned to the core. Trading Correa would be a mercy kill to the self-inflicted senseless death of our Twins.

[LastOnePicked]

I can't see this not happening, actually. Correa is great, but he cannot and will not put this Twins team over the top. For a great team, yes, he could be a difference maker. Here, he's being asked to carry too large a load and his contract is too large a burden. It was a big swing by the Twins to sign him - and while not a miss, maybe just a loud warning track out.

It's rebuild time.

[tony&rodney]

Who plays shortstop? Really?