How Will Carlos Correa's Return To Minnesota Affect The Guardians?
The Carlos Correa saga is officially over. The shortstop ended up back in a Twins uniform after "signing" with a total of three teams this offseason.
Correa's free agency was about as wild as a ride we've ever seen in professional sports and it's likely a storyline we'll never see again. There's no debate he is among one of the best shortstops in baseball at this point in time, however, multiple teams decided to pass on him due to his physical.
Clearly, that physical was not an issue for Minnesota as they signed him to a six-year $200 million deal.
Correa will be playing on a completely different team and in a different city than the Guardians but his decision to stay in the AL Central will have an impact on them anyway.
Jun 23, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins infielder Carlos Correa (4) hits a single against the Cleveland Guardians during the sixth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
Up to this point in the offseason, fans were pretty confident that Cleveland would be able to repeat as division champions. The Twins had made minor moves such as bringing in Joey Gallo, but nothing to put them over the edge. The White Sox could also be a threat to come out on top, but we've been saying that for years now with nothing really to show for it.
Minnesota bringing back Correa changes everything and opens up the Twins' window for contention for the next half-decade. The Twins will try to capitalize on this and continue to improve whether that be by acquiring pitching or another bat.
I also think people forgot how good Correa was last season because of all the injuries the Twins had. He slashed .291/.366/.467 with a .834 OPS while also hitting 22 home runs and driving in 64 RBI. The shortstop did all of this while playing in 136 games with 590 plate appearances.
That's a lot of playing time for a guy who had two teams back out of a deal with him because of injury concerns. I realize those worries were about his long-term health, but Correa is still going to be an elite player next year.
On top of this, he also tormented the Guardians when they saw each other head-on. He hit .387 with a 1.102 OPS against Cleveland pitching while also slugging five home runs.
That isn't a guy Guardians pitchers don't want to see for 50 or more plate appearances a year.
Correa's return to Minnesota just made the Guardians' path to back-to-back division champions much more difficult, although certainly not impossible.
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