Twins star sacrificed fantasy football bragging rights to recruit Carlos Correa

Ken Rosenthal had a really great piece in The Athletic this weekend about the Carlos Correa deal and how it came to be. Among the things that were touched on included why Correa returned (beyond the obvious), his conversations with the Mets about playing third base rather than shortstop, and a number of other interesting tidbits.

One thing that stood out was the talks Correa had with stars on the teams he almost signed with. Specially, Rosenthal allows for insight into Correa’s talks with Brandon Crawford and Francisco Lindor, which goes to show the relationship with those players on those teams and how it factored into Correa’s decision.

Correa was talking with superstars around the league, but didn’t have to look far from home to find a superstar trying to convince him all the same.

Dan Hayes also wrote a piece about Correa’s return to the Twins and what went into it, but specifically highlighted how important Byron Buxton was to the process. One bit that didn’t make the piece stands out as a reminder that Carlos Correa returning to Minnesota is more than just about the money.

That’s both hilarious, but also extremely telling about how much Correa indeed wanted to return to the Twins.

As the drama with the Giants and Mets unfolded, and the Twins slowly crept back into the conversation, some of the consensus was that Minnesota landing Correa was more out of concessions and desperation than anything else. That the idea Minnesota could land a free agent like Carlos Correa had to come with some sort of obvious caveat or asterisk — in this case, the hullabaloo about his concerning physicals.

But that’s underselling perhaps the most important thing that brought Correa back to Minnesota. Sure, $200 million certainly doesn’t hurt and played a major factor, but think about what’s at the heart of the Hayes anecdote.

There’s a real bond and serious camaraderie with Correa and the Twins clubhouse. Being in a fantasy football league together seems like a minor thing, but think about the folks you’re in your best fantasy leagues with. It’s not people you happen to be in a league with, or that you feel obligated to be in a league with, it’s people you have a genuine connection with beyond just surface level interactions.

It’s also objectively cool for Buxton that he’s right there alongside Crawford and Lindor as serous figureheads of a franchise and as a superstar in the league. To get a good idea of why Twins fans are so excited about this move, and the impact it could have on the team beyond what Correa can do on the diamond, look no further than that anecdote.

And it absolutely rules.