The Twins face tight salary constraints this offseason after narrowly missing the playoffs in September’s blowout loss and they’re looking to improve. With the club’s 2025 budget reportedly at $13MM and RosterResource currently projecting payroll at $14MM, it’s no secret the club plans to make trades this winter to cut payroll. This has led to some clubs asking the Twins about the star shortstop’s availability, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune Carlos Correa. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey addressed the possibility of a Correa trade during the first day of the winter meetings on Monday, although Nightengale continued to stress there was nothing to indicate the inquiries were anything more serious than the initial calls.
“Obviously you want players like that to be available in the team, especially given where we are now and some of the conversations we’re having with other clubs.” Nightengale relayed what Falvey said about Correa. “But we wanted to win, so we set the bar high.”
It’s a marked change in tone from last month, when Falvey stressed that a Correa deal was not something the club was “concerned about” and said Correa was a “key” part of the club’s plans Byron Buxton and Pablo Lopez. Even so, The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reported on Monday that multiple Twins sources said it’s “hard to imagine” the club parting ways with Correa. Given their apparent reluctance to trade their star shortstop and the apparently extremely preliminary nature of inquiries into his availability, it still seems more likely that Correa will still be in a Twins uniform on Opening Day in 2025.
That being said, the idea of a Correa trade is certainly interesting. Correa’s recent history has been extremely tumultuous. After signing a short-term deal with Minnesota in the 2021-22 offseason, Correa re-entered free agency the following year after a strong platform season and reached agreements with the Giants and Mets, but those deals It ultimately failed due to medical issues. That led to Correa re-signing his current contract with the Twins, which requires him to pay $128MM over the next four seasons before picking up a series of four-team options that Correa could By reaching a certain appearance threshold or earning a top-5 MVP, Silver Slugger, or LCS/World Series MVP award in the season prior to this option.
Correa’s complex contract also contains a full no-trade clause, meaning he must approve any trade that sends him out of Minnesota. Correa has been hit and miss since re-signing with the Twins, complicating any trade talks involving Correa. The shortstop struggled with plantar fasciitis during the 2023 season and posted just 1.8 fWAR and a 95 wRC+ in all 135 games. His production bounced back to previously impressive levels in 2024, as he hit .310/.388/.517 with a 155 wRC+, but plantar fasciitis once again hampered him, leaving the shortstop with Played in 86 games. Overall, the 30-year-old hit .261/.341/.444 (119 wRC+) in 221 games over the past two seasons.
Considering Correa’s attractive value when healthy, it’s easy to imagine at least some high-income clubs willing to take a chance on his contract. However, that clearly wasn’t enough to get the deal done, as Falvey has made it clear he’s not interested in trading Correa simply for a pay cut. Even if Correa was willing to waive his no-trade clause and leave Minnesota, it’s unclear whether interested clubs would be willing to give up the kind of package that would entice Falvey to strike a deal to acquire him. Although the club has a 2022 first-round pick Brooks Lee A potential replacement at shortstop after Correa was traded, he struggled to a .221/.265/.320 slash line in his first major league appearance and may not be ready to start a day job in the 2025 season.
Considering a Correa trade is clearly unlikely to happen, it still seems like the Twins will have to cut salary somewhere. To this end, Nightengale emphasized that utility men willy castroright-handed Chris Paddackand catcher Christian Vazquez As “obvious trade candidates,” though he said none of the three would bring much in return other than a pay cut. This isn’t the first time these three have emerged as potential trade candidates this winter, but if the Twins can get all three of them off the books, that would save $23.7MM using Castro’s final $6.2MM projection comprehensive valuation.
If Minnesota can free up all of that money, it appears they will have about $10.5 to invest in other areas of the team. To that end, Nightengale noted that Falvey described adding a first baseman as “certainly attractive.” Carlos Santana Elected a free agent last month and is a right-handed complement to the left-handed outfielder Matt Wallner and Trevor Lanark It also makes sense for the losing club Manuel Margot Also becomes a free agent in November. Ramon Laureano, Mark Canhaand Austin Hayes is one of the interesting budget options in the right field market, and Santana joins the ranks Josh Bell, Anthony Rizzoand Paul Goldschmidt This winter on the lower level of First Base Market.
