On the January 2023 day that Carlos Correa inked a record-setting contract with the Minnesota Twins, the star shortstop sat on a stage alongside Twins president Derek Falvey, his agent, Scott Boras, and Twins executive chair Joe Pohlad, the four men beaming as they spoke about Correa’s future in Minnesota.
It was a been long, circuitous journey that led Correa back to Minnesota, where he had played a season prior, one which saw him agree to deals with two other organizations, before both balked at his medical records. But Correa was a Twin — for life, the group hoped — and that January day marked one of the brightest, most optimistic days in the history of the franchise.
Less than three years into the contract, amid an epic sell-off at the trade deadline on Thursday, the Twins have reportedly traded Correa, one of the leaders in their clubhouse, back to the Houston Astros, on a dark day for the organization.
The Twins, who slashed their payroll a year after signing Correa, will shed the salary of their most expensive player — he will earn $36 million in 2025 — but will reportedly still pay some portion of the money owed to him. That includes the remainder of this season and the $92 million he will earn over the next three years of the deal. The return for Correa is not yet known but is said to be one prospect.
The shocking trade, which was one of many for the Twins this past week, required Correa to waive his no-trade clause. The Astros, he told MLB.com in an exclusive interview, were the only team for which he would do that. Correa was drafted first overall by the Astros in 2012 and played the first seven years of his major league career with them.
Just a day earlier, after rumors linking Correa to Houston had surfaced, the shortstop was asked directly if he would waive his no-trade clause to go back to Houston and he did not answer the question outright.
“That’s not something I … think is serious right now,” Correa said Wednesday. “We’ll see where everything goes, but my goal has always been to be here and win here.”
Correa’s career in Minnesota began with a move even more stunning than Thursday’s trade. He came to the Twins in free agency, agreeing to a deal during the early hours of the night in March 2022 shortly after Major League Baseball’s lockout had come to an end. The top remaining free agent on the market, his signing with the Twins shocked the baseball world. It was a three-year deal, one he opted out of after the first year as he sought a longer-term home.
He seemed to find one in San Francisco but after agreeing to a 12-year, $315 million deal with the Giants, they called off his introductory press conference at the last minute because of their concerns with his physical, stemming back to an old ankle issue. Correa and Boras quickly pivoted to the New York Mets, where he quickly agreed to a 12-year, $315 million deal with them before they raised the same concern about his ankle.
Finally, he told Boras to get him back to Minnesota. The Twins had been engaged in trying to bring him back the whole time, though were not willing to offer the same financial commitment as the other two teams.
Over the course of his nearly-four season career in Minnesota, Correa was a leader for the Twins, both off and on the field.
If things weren’t going well, he often was the player who addressed the media on behalf of the group. Just a day before the trade, Correa sat in on a conversation between manager Rocco Baldelli and Griffin Jax after Jax had expressed frustration with a ninth-inning hook. A veteran with a championship pedigree, young players within the clubhouse often remarked how much they looked up to Correa.
The shortstop had underperformed his career offensive numbers this season — for $36 million, he has a bWAR (Wins Above Replacement) per Baseball Reference of just 0.1 — but was an all-star as recently as last season. While he still looked smooth defensively at shortstop, Correa’s defensive metrics have taken a hit and with Houston, he will transition over to third base.
Other trades swung
After trading starting pitcher Chris Paddack to the Detroit Tigers on Monday and Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, the Twins swung two more trades Thursday afternoon, per reports.
A day after finding a trading partner in the Phillies for Duran, the Twins and Phillies struck another deal with outfielder Harrison Bader headed to Philadelphia. They also made a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, shipping out reliever Brock Stewart, who was originally drafted by the Dodgers and began his major league career in Los Angeles.
In their first move of the day — the trade deadline is set for 5 p.m. — the Twins swapped outfielder Harrison Bader, whom they signed to a one-year deal this offseason, to Philadelphia for prospects Hendry Mendez, an outfielder, and right-hander Geremy Villoria, per reports.
Bader, 31, has been among the Twins’ top position players this season, providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield as he put together one of his most productive seasons at the plate. The veteran is currently hitting .258 with a .778 OPS and 12 home runs.
Mendez, a left-handed outfielder, is the Phillies’ No. 12 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old is slashing .290/.374/.434 at Double-A this season. Villoria was signed as an international free agent this year for $425,000. He has been pitching for the Phillies’ Dominican Summer League team this season where the 16-year-old has posted a 4.50 earned-run average across 14 innings pitched.
Stewart is the second high-leverage reliever the Twins have traded in as many days after Duran and both have team control after this season. The 33-year-old, who will not hit free agency until after the 2027 season, has pitched to a 2.38 earned-run average this season after recovering from mid-season shoulder surgery that he underwent last August.
The reliever, whom the Twins originally signed to a minor league deal in 2022 after his second stint in the Dodgers organization, has been an important piece of the Twins’ bullpen since 2023 but also has a lengthy injury history that perhaps is part of why the Twins were willing to part with him for value even with his future control.
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