The Minnesota Twins‘ 2021 season is about to come to a close, and there’s already been plenty of talk regarding what the team might do this offseason to jump back into contention after a disappointing season in which they will finish in the American League Central basement. The shortstop position is one at which there are a lot of directions in which the team could go.
There are several big names hitting the free agent market this winter at short, though some fans might have thought the Twins wouldn’t be in on them, especially since they have the highly-regarded Royce Lewis and Austin Martin in their farm system. However, one prominent MLB reporter recently listed the Twins among the teams “likely in” on perhaps the biggest name of all:
Tigers are one team interested in Carlos Correa, whose 7.0 WAR ranks him 3rd in AL. Set himself up nicely. Rangers, Yankees, Twins among others teams likely in an alltime great SS market. In Detroit, there’s an AJ Hinch link.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 1, 2021
Minnesota Twins: 3 reasons in support of pursuing Carlos Correa
Most fans already know that Carlos Correa is a star. At 27, he’s already posted a career WAR of 34.0, including 7.2 this year. In 2021, he’s batting .279 with 25 home runs and 91 RBIs, while his defensive WAR is a stellar 2.9. Correa is going to be in for a huge payday, especially if indeed the Yankees are involved, but the Twins should have some money to spend this offseason.
If you are in favor of signing Correa, here are three reasons to support your argument:
1. The Twins would send a message that they are in win now mode.
Many have thought Lewis to be the shortstop of the future, and though he’s still highly regarded, his season-ending injury set his timetable back and he’ll likely be starting the 2022 season in the minors. Would the Twins sign a stopgap free agent in the meantime? Would they give Nick Gordon a closer look? Or would they go big and show that they want to win in 2022 with Correa? If the team is serious about winning next year, Correa would be the play to make.
2. There’s no guarantee Lewis and Martin will pan out.
We could say this about any prospect, but Lewis and Martin are not major league ready, and as mentioned earlier Lewis missed an entire year due to injury. The Twins shouldn’t remove themselves from the Correa (or other big name SS) sweepstakes just because they are hopeful that someday they’ll have a star in one of these two players. And, if they do pan out, perhaps they could be moved to another position.
3. Keep him away from a division rival.
If the tweet from above is any indication, the divisional rival Detroit Tigers, who are entering a critical offseason in their rebuild, will be in on Correa, and our friends over at Motor City Bengals recently wrote about how he might fit in with the Tigers. A team should never sign a player solely to keep him away from another team, but I’m sure the Twins would rather have Correa on their roster than have to face him 19 games per season. Correa going to the Tigers would put Detroit one big step ahead of Minnesota for next season.