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The last six months have been very… weird… for Carlos Correa. At the conclusion of the 2022 season, Carlos became a free agent and informed the Minnesota Twins that he was seeking offers on the open market. That decision was made despite the fact that he was earning $35 million in salary from the Twins and likely could have signed a very large contract extension that would have kept his family wealthy for many generations.
But that’s not what Carlos wanted. So he dipped his toes in the free agency market and quickly got some very large bites.
In mid-December Carlos was rumored to be on the verge of landing a 13-year, $350 million contract with the Giants. In a weird twist that offer was either rescinded or never actually made official after Carlos failed a physical.
Oh well! Carlos was quickly embraced by the Mets and a week later had reportedly signed a 12-year, $315 million contract.
And then he failed another physical!
At this point Carlos was in a bit of a pickle. With the stink of two failed physicals, he went back to the Twins, hat-in-hand, and said “never mind! I’d love to stay in Minnesota.”
Thankfully for Carlos, this contract was actually signed, sealed and delivered. However, the shenanigans came at a price.
The Twins “only” offered Carlos $200 million over six seasons. It’s the largest contract in Twins history. And while this deal still works out to $33 million per season, it’s highly unlikely that six years from now – when Carlos is 34 – he’ll have another large contract waiting. In essence, opting to test the free agency waters cost Carlos around $150 million.
Carlos had a good attitude about the situation, telling a reporter:
“What can we do with $350 million that we cannot do with $200 million?“
I can think of a few things to be honest, but I take his point.
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
So. Everyone is happy now right?! Right?! Carlos passed his physical and got a contract. The Twins get the privilege of paying their starting shortstop $33 million for six more years. Time to win some games?
Not so much.
Carlos’ $33 million salary makes him BY FAR the highest-paid player on the twins. His salary is literally more than double the second-highest paid player, center fielder Byron Buxton, who will make $15 million this year.
So how is Carlos doing so far in the 2023 season?
If you lined the Twins’ starters up by batting average from best to worst, Carlos Correa would currently rank…
Dead Last
After going 0 for 5 on Tuesday night when the Twins lost to the Padres 6-1, Carlos’ batting average for the season sunk to .185.
Out of 172 “qualified” batters in all of major league baseball – where a “qualified” batter is defined as one who averages more than 3 at-bats per game – Carlos ranks 166th.
As a result, Carlos is getting audibly booed by his hometown fans. And he gets it. Speaking to reporters after his horrendous Tuesday night performance, Carlos said:
“I’d boo myself too with the amount of money I’m making, if I’m playing like that. Obviously, it’s unacceptable.“
There is some positive news. As I was typing this article, Carlos hit a go-ahead double that allowed the Twins to beat the Padres in their Thursday afternoon game.
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