The Minnesota Twins had some big goals entering the 2022 offseason, and to this point, they have managed to strike out on almost all of them. Re-signing Carlos Correa was chief among them, and despite the fact that he ended up signing with two different teams, neither of them were the Twins, meaning that Minnesota has another huge hole on their roster.
Correa initially bailed on the Twins for the San Francisco Giants, before eventually changing course and bailing on the Giants for the New York Mets. Even then, Correa’s deal with the Mets hasn’t officially been finalized, so who really knows what will happen there. All we know is that at this point in time, the Twins do not have Correa on their roster for the 2023 season and beyond.
Correa was brought in by the Twins last offseason with the hope that he would be a part of their long-term future, but he instead used them in order to get a bigger contract this offseason. That’s how the MLB rolls sometimes, but the Twins have to figure out what to do after losing their star shortstop. And chances are, replacing Correa is going to be a lot easier said than done.
How the Twins can move forward without Carlos Correa
The signs had been pointing to Correa leaving the Twins for some time, but they still did their best to persuade the star shortstop to re-sign with them in free agency. The problem is that by focusing all their attention on Correa, the Twins missed out on three other All-Star caliber shortstops (Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson) who hit the market at the same time as Correa.
Those top shortstops have all found new homes, but none of them are Minnesota. The Twins had some big holes on their roster entering the offseason, but the departure of Correa leaves a massive one on the left side of their infield, and it remains to be seen whether or not it will be something they can recover from.
Right off the bat, Minnesota’s lineup is now a mess. They managed to shore up the catcher position by signing Christian Vazquez, which is huge, but they lost Correa, traded away their starting third baseman in Gio Urshela, and have an outfield that is relying heavily on an injury prone Byron Buxton. Things aren’t looking great now that many of the top free agents are off the market.
Chances are Luiz Arraez will find a more consistent home at either third or second base after taking on a utility role last season, depending on whether the Twins want to leave Jorge Polanco at second base or move him to shortstop. Even then, you still have a spot on the infield that needs filling.
A potential option would be to hand Royce Lewis, who was the first overall pick of the 2017 MLB Draft, the starting job after he had a strong stint in the majors to close the season. The Twins also traded for Kyle Farmer, who primarily plays shortstop, and while he’s not a great option, he’s an option to say the least.
With the free agent market looking barren, the Twins may be better suited trying to pull off a trade for a top player like Bryan Reynolds or Pablo Lopez. The infield has some placeholders, as does the outfield, but the Twins lineup needs a serious influx of talent, and that’s why making a move for Reynolds suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Reynolds requested a trade off of the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this offseason, and while their asking price is high, there are a lot of teams interested in his services. Reynolds is a strong hitter who can play at all three outfield spots in a pinch, which is huge because aside from Buxton, the Twins don’t really have a consistent outfielder.
The Twins could also opt to strengthen an already fairly strong rotation by swinging a deal for Lopez, who is likely the top pitching option available on the trade market. Minnesota has a deep rotation, but lacks a true ace; swinging a deal for Lopez could fix that, even if it isn’t exactly the most conventional move the Twins could make.
Minnesota isn’t going to be able to replace Correa with just one player, and it’s looking like it’s going to be increasingly difficult for them to overcome this loss and make themselves a playoff contender again next season. The easiest way to overcome this would be to trade for a star, or hope Lewis can develop into a star, but both of those options aren’t extremely likely, and it looks like losing out on Correa could haunt the Twins for the next few seasons.
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