Carlos Correa Trade Buzz Is Heating Up

12 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Correa would not bring a #1 SP straight up and you definitely are not getting the other pieces you mention so that trade is a fantasy.  You have also just taken a position that an additional $17.5M won't make a difference.  Yet your solution is to spend another $17.5M.   Do you see the problem with your position?

Yes, its as Ludicrous as proposing any trade for Correa. They made the investment. They need to live with it. 

For Correa to go to either NY team I assume he'd have to move to 3B.  Volpe and Lindor are recent Gold Glove winners, so I doubt they would be moved.  Maybe Correa would be OK with this, but I doubt it.   

6 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

I read about 10 comments and the doom & gloom from nearly every angle is always so uplifting.

Team wasn’t good even when Correa was in the line-up …….. the big market Teams always fleece the small market Teams …….. the Pohlad’s are cheap …….. Falvey’s an idiot….., wow.

The writers job is to write stuff that “may happen” but more importantly will generate reader interest……. SS’s in N.Y., Volpe & Lindor, aren’t in need of being replaced any time soon. Does it make any sense to trade for a guy that hasn’t been able to stay on the field over the last 2 seasons AND pay him $37M/yr.? Why??? ……..oh, it must be so they can stick it to the Twin’s fan base.

Pretty sure the Yankees have their hands full focusing on their bullpen and trying to keep Soto! ……… The Mets are losing (potentially) 90 starts between 3 exiting FA starting pitchers …..Alonso is a FA …… they want Soto as well!! Either team trading for a marginal health (potential All-star) guy isn’t a very good way to make themselves better.

The biggest thing that seems to be glossed over in the comments is that the Pohlad’s are selling the Club. I have no reason to doubt this is true. Why would they approve to dismantle a team (trade star power) that is a couple guys away from having real success? I know that nobody here buys into this, but I think they might actually spend a bit to try to ensure that the Club has success in ‘25. What’s an extra $17M (random amount) into this year’s payroll to try and maximize a $1.5Bish return on the asset sale? Seems the incoming buyers would want an energized fan base that’s excited about the product on the field and not want a bunch of prospects for CC and have concerns for $20M in the Pohlad’s pocket in the short term.

The Twins have the 6th highest WAR on their current roster in MLB.  An extra $17M spent wisely would go along way to making a deep playoff run in ‘25. 
Lets just assume the new owners want to win, they would presumably pay more for a well oiled machine playing in the ALCS vs. a dumbsterfire of salary cutting rebuild mode AAAA prospects in last place central division.  An investment by the pohlads will make an immediate +ROI.  

The Twins are in salary dump mode AGAIN. So I think they would trade Correa if they find a the right deal that would bring 2-3 good prospects, maybe even a top prospect.  The NY teams can absorb the impact of Correa’s salary vs. the potential for lingering injury. It would also signal the Twins are in rebuilding mode because their best players, Correa, Buxton, and Lewis are injury prone and cannot be counted on. 

RpR, you have to get over the notion that a No-Trade Clause means the player CANNOT be traded.  It's nothing more than a tool to give the player the leverage to say "no" to a trade he certainly doesn't want.  Like, say,  getting traded to the White Sox.  Most players waive their No-Trade for a price.  It's usually written into the contract. 

In the end, ANYBODY can be traded.  A player just doesn't want to get dealt to a last place team that has no chance at making the playoffs.  Correa may look at his Twins situation and think the Pohlad's, with their big trade deadline acquisition of Trevor Richards sold him a bill of goods and don't really want to compete for championships. 

Correa wants to compete for championships.  He may think with a team payroll of $125 million, less his $35, leaving the rest of the payroll at $90 million, isn't enough to be a playoff contending team and certainly not enough to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Orioles, Guardians, Tigers, Royals, Houston, Seattle, Texas etc...

The No-Trade Clause is there to benefit Carlos Correa, not the team.  It just may be that Scott Boras had a conversation with this New York writer (off the record of course) to stir the pot.  Finishing 4th in a 5 team division with the last place team setting a record for futility isn't what Correa thought he signed up for.  (and certainly not what Scott Boras wants in trying to best market his client).  Correa certainly wasn't banging the table that all the Twins needed down the stretch was Trevor Richards!!!

This may prove to be nothing more than Hot Stove speculation.  It may have been nothing more than a Scott Boras agitprop.  But it may have been done with a purpose of forcing the Twins to trade Correa.  We will just have to wait to find out.  

IMO Correa only delivered in his first season (2022) with the Twins, not first 2 seasons as you implied. 2023 was horrendous at the plate to a .230BA, .312 OBP and a league leading 30 GIDPs. He's been FAR from what the Twins were hoping and PAYING for. If the Yankees or Mets come calling and he's on board with either team, I trade for all I can get. Outside of 1 playoff series win he's brought nothing and the 1 year window they had hoped for with Lopez, Gray and Ryan is over. Limited Payroll has changed their whole approach and now they're caught stuck with a big contract and no way of improving the team anymore from the outside. It's time to commit to the young core coming up and see what they have. A total rebuild is NOT necessary if they get rid of the part-time dead wood that is holding this team back. Both Correa and Buxton need to go.

Two driving factors:

1 what is the return?

2. Does that return create a higher value for potential new owners? 

Not sure Pohlads trade away anything that makes them more $. But if you get an exciting young core out of the trade which knowing the Twins is unlikely then maybe.

How about packaging Correa and Buxton and going young and cheap?

That would be pretty sad, but like the grinch the Pohlad's will take every last crumb before they leave :(

11 hours ago, old nurse said:

Consternation because a New York sports writer wrote an opinion column on a slow news day on why he thought a New York team should trade for Correa. Holy clickbait Batman.. Not one shred of evidence either team thought about trading for him.. That column was no closer to reality than the what relievers the Twins should sign articles 

This. Thank you. 

Ticket sales and general interest in the team would crater of we got rid of one of our only "star" players. People come to the park to see these nationally recognized guys and if we don't have any, nobody is going to pay to come see what amounts to a AAA team.

1 hour ago, Fatbat said:

Yes, its as Ludicrous as proposing any trade for Correa. They made the investment. They need to live with it. 

I have actually posted previously that Correa's salary was viable within a $140M payroll if they could produce enough pitching.   In addition, I don't think they can trade him between the no trade clause and injury concerns,  However, I can't come up with an example of a team that sustained any success with a player absorbing 25% of payroll.  It's pretty hard for me to take a stance supporting something that has never or very rarely been successful so I would not take a position that we have to live with it if we could find a good way out like they did with Donaldson.   

BTW ... When I say 25% of payroll, I mean 25% of payroll capacity not actual payroll.  Of course, capacity is harder to discern.  If a team is spending 25% on a player but still has capacity to increase spending, that 25% investment is not impeding further additions or keeping players that are becoming more expensive through arbitration.  

Typical media talking head trying to drum up a story for the New York readers to consume in a quiet period. Both New York teams were close and the little ole twins collapsed. Let the big vultures pick the meat from the wounded animal. A good GM listens to all offers for a player. To a GM every player has a price. Whether he’s signed to a 1 year $1M contract or a 10 year $500M contract. The GM is always looking for value. The owner dictates starting the franchise on fire due to optics. If they trade Correa that signifies a rebuild. In which case you trade everyone else too. Also, if that happens the Pohlads probably need to significantly lower the asking price. If you trade Correa at this point you’re all of a sudden selling a rebuilding asset which will garner less money. It might be smart for Falvey. Would be disastrous to the Pohlads. I’m trying to point out the difference between the PBO side vs the business side. Correa is an asset of the business side. He signifies that the franchise is competitive. If you trade him it signifies the club is uncompetitive and ultimately worth less. The Pohlads are trying to sell high. Not low

8 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

I have actually posted previously that Correa's salary was viable within a $140M payroll if they could produce enough pitching.   In addition, I don't think they can trade him between the no trade clause and injury concerns,  However, I can't come up with an example of a team that sustained any success with a player absorbing 25% of payroll.  It's pretty hard for me to take a stance supporting something that has never or very rarely been successful so I would not take a position that we have to live with it if we could find a good way out like they did with Donaldson.   

BTW ... When I say 25% of payroll, I mean 25% of payroll capacity.  If a team is spending 25% on a player but still has capacity to increase spending, that 25% investment is not impeding further additions or keeping players that are becoming more expensive through arbitration.  

Agreed. There is always a way out but realistically, his trade value is down and the Pohlads want to maximize sale price so they need star players and a winning season.  The Pohlads aren’t going to firesale and go into rebuild mode.  Can he be traded, sure but we are only a couple key investment pieces from a deep playoff run.  Players need to perform commensurate to their pay and young guys wanting a big payday need to produce well above their paygrade.  

3 minutes ago, chpettit19 said: How do you improve the 2025 team without Correa? And Buxton. 

Buy a lockdown bullpen.

10 minutes ago, FargoFanMan said:

Typical media talking head trying to drum up a story for the New York readers to consume in a quiet period. Both New York teams were close and the little ole twins collapsed. Let the big vultures pick the meat from the wounded animal. A good GM listens to all offers for a player. To a GM every player has a price. Whether he’s signed to a 1 year $1M contract or a 10 year $500M contract. The GM is always looking for value. The owner dictates starting the franchise on fire due to optics. If they trade Correa that signifies a rebuild. In which case you trade everyone else too. Also, if that happens the Pohlads probably need to significantly lower the asking price. If you trade Correa at this point you’re all of a sudden selling a rebuilding asset which will garner less money. It might be smart for Falvey. Would be disastrous to the Pohlads. I’m trying to point out the difference between the PBO side vs the business side. Correa is an asset of the business side. He signifies that the franchise is competitive. If you trade him it signifies the club is uncompetitive and ultimately worth less. The Pohlads are trying to sell high. Not low

This narrative that trading an established player means that the team should just go into a full rebuild is a bit of an overreaction.  Did the Brewers "trade everyone else" when the traded Burnes after winning 92 games in 2023?  No.  They went on to win 93 games in 2024.   

Speaking of under-performing malcontent... Lewis is a good candidate to be shipped out. Yes he has a medical history that explains part of that performance, but how he handled the season ending collapse was very poor.

A trade for Gil back plus Rizzo. With contracts that are good for years.

Maybe some other team and that's a big Maybe. Both the New York teams have SS. The Yankees have Volpe who is 23 yrs old and plays every day. The Mets said no to a ankle,why would they say yes to a ankle and 2 bad feet. And they are not slapping Lindor in the face after the post season he had.

We all are aware that any player can be discussed and potentially traded. The Twins are right back where they were last offseason, except for this time they need to make up some ground on other teams. Specifically, the AL Central is markedly improved from a year ago. Still, the situation is pretty much the same. What can Falvey do to improve the roster for 2025?

Money does make a difference in decisions but it is past the time for using the financial budget as a crutch or excuse. Budgets are a reality. The Twins can win with a budget of $110-125 million. We all knew that every player would or should be discussed in terms of their role in making the roster better next season. The central question remains .... how does any move make the team better?