The Minnesota Twins are reportedly listening to trade offers for shortstop Carlos Correa and it appears they have a suitor in the Boston Red Sox.
Speaking during an appearance on SKOR North’s Minnesota Sports with Mackey and Judd, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV said that the Red Sox could be interested in acquiring the three-time All-Star in a trade in the coming weeks.
“One team that has interest, I am led to believe, is the Boston Red Sox,” Wolfson said. “You think about the Alex Cora connection. Bench coach in Houston with Carolos, was his manager . …I don’t think anything is remotely close, but teams are checking in. I’m led to believe the Red Sox are a team to keep an eye on if the Twins decide to get really aggressive on the trading Correa front.”
Why would the Twins trade Correa?
The Red Sox could be one of many teams calling the Twins about Correa’s availability in the coming weeks. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported on Monday that the Twins would be open to listening to offers for the 30-year-old but wouldn’t trade him in a “salary dump” situation.
The Twins payroll situation, which is currently at $142 million according to Fangraphs, is roughly $12 million higher than the $130 million figure the Twins operated at in 2024.
While Correa was signed to a six-year, $200 million contract before the 2023 season, that was before Twins Chairman Joe Pohlad vowed to “right-size” the franchise’s spending and getting rid of Correa’s contract – which has $128 million due over the next four years – could allow Minnesota to make moves to improve the team around a young core featuring Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee and top prospect Walker Jenkins.
The Twins could try to shed salary elsewhere, but trading Correa would get the biggest potential return – even if the Twins have to sell for pennies on the dollar.
The Red Sox could also use a splash after bowing out of the running for Juan Soto, who agreed to a 15-year mega-deal worth up to $805 million with the New York Mets on Sunday night. While they may not be desperate to add Correa, who saw two megadeals with the Mets and San Francisco Giants fall through after failing physicals in the winter of 2022 and has missed a large chunk of the past two seasons after battles with plantar fasciitis, it could also be an upgrade on current shortstop Trevor Story.
What could a deal with the Red Sox look like?
MLB.com's top Red Sox prospects such as shortstop Marcelo Mayer and catcher Kyle Teel could be off limits and outfielders Roman Anthony and Braden Montgomery could be of little interest to the Twins because of a glut of outfielders in the system including Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez.
But the Twins could swing a deal for a pair of prospects in the back half of the top 10. Shortstops Franklin Arias and Yoeilin Cespedes could be of interest with an estimated debut date of 2028 and either starting pitcher David Sandlin or Luis Perales could be thrown in as both are set to debut in the next two years.
Could a deal featuring Arias, Sandlin and No. 21 prospect Hunter Dobbins (ETA 2025) be enough to acquire Correa? Or would the Twins look to a major league option with team control like Richard Fitts and pair him with a prospect in the No. 6 to 10 range?
Whatever the Twins decide to do, they’ll need to think carefully as trading Correa would be another massive public relations hit after a 2024 season that dragged fans along for the ride. If they can find the right deal, however, Correa may be playing somewhere else in 2025.