Despite contract terms, Carlos Correa says joining Twins isn't 'like a one-year thing'

FORT MYERS, Fla. — There were plenty of thank-yous on Wednesday, plenty of credit doled out to a variety of people who helped make the Twins' signing of Carlos Correa possible.

Jim Pohlad approved the largest salary in his team's history, and General Manager Thad Levine did the point-by-point contract negotiating. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey freed up the budget space by trading Josh Donaldson's contract to the Yankees, and manager Rocco Baldelli described how Correa would fit in the Twins' clubhouse.

But let's not forget other unsung heroes who played roles, knowingly or not, in one of the most dramatic transactions the Twins have ever pulled off.

There was Marwin Gonzalez, a former Astros teammate who assured Correa and his wife that Minnesota is a satisfying, family-oriented place to play. Or pitchers like Hector Santiago, Tommy Milone and Michael Pineda, each of whom helped inflate Correa's statistics at Target Field. There was Rob Manfred, the baseball commissioner who instituted a 99-day lockout of the players, robbing Correa's agent, Scott Boras, of the time to build a bidding war that would have inflated Correa's price out of the Twins' range.

And there are the grill cooks at Matt's Bar, whose famous specialty helped the Twins appeal to their new shortstop through his stomach.

"When I go to Minnesota, I diet for a week before going there," Correa said Wednesday, "so I can just crush Jucy Lucys every day."

Correa pulled on his new uniform, No. 4, and smiled the $35.1 million smile of a champion, and mentioned in almost every answer during a 40-minute news conference his commitment to turning the Twins back into winners.

"We only talked about winning" on a video call between Twins officials and their new shortstop last Friday, Correa said. "That's what we want to build here. We want to build a championship culture. We want to move forward and win divisions, win championships, and that's my goal here."

He'll have to do it quickly, given that the 27-year-old shortstop's three-year contract gives him the right to seek an even bigger contract next winter, but nobody knows better than the Twins that it's possible. Just before training camp in 1991, the Twins signed another high-profile free agent, pitcher Jack Morris, to a three-year contract that also gave him the option to leave early. Morris stayed only one season, but left with a World Series ring.

Correa vs. the Twins: Games: 31. AB: 138. HR: 9. RBI: 31. Avg: .339. Slg%: .637. OPS: 1.028

"I told Derek, 'We're not seeing this like a one-year thing. We're seeing this as, I want to build a championship culture in this organization,' " said Correa, a former AL Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Star and Platinum Glove winner. "I want to show you guys what I can do, what I can bring to the table, so we can have a long-term relationship."

Correa said he's satisfied with his contract, which can be worth $105.3 million if he stays all three seasons, even though a couple of other shortstops represented by Boras, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, extracted deals worth a combined half a billion dollars from the Rangers just before the lockout began. But Correa didn't hire Boras until mid-January, and the lockout hamstrung his chances of matching that payday, the agent said.

"I kind of inherited the situation in January, and I went in and said, 'Look, I know how these contracts work and what it takes to pull them all together. I doubt that there's going to be a timeframe, with the lockout [in place] to allow that to happen,' " Boras said. "So we started transitioning to this" short-term, high-value, multiple opt-out contract.

Important in finding a match: A team with potential, a city where Correa, his wife, Daniella, and their 3-month-old son Kylo can be comfortable, and a home stadium where Correa can thrive, keeping his value high for another foray into free agency. It just so happens that Target Field — a venue that the former Astro has torched for a 1.205 OPS, higher than at any other current park — was a perfect fit.

"I love the [juniper-vined] batter's eye. You can see the ball real well," Correa said. "I love the infield, taking ground balls there. It's one of my favorite places to take ground balls. So everything just worked out perfectly."

Even if the Twins never saw it coming. They had discussed Correa internally, but after acquiring, then trading, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, had focused instead on former Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, hoping to use their savings on Donaldson's contract to entice him with a four- or five-year deal. Then on Friday, Boras called and asked if the Twins had any interest in Correa on a short-term, perhaps even a one-year, deal.

"Once we had the Carlos call," Falvey understated, "we kind of made that our primary focus that day."

They set up a video call with Correa that included Baldelli and made their case for Minnesota. Correa contacted Gonzalez, who spent 2019-20 with the Twins, and he gave positive reviews about everything but the April weather. And shortly after midnight, after agreeing on the opt-outs and on a no-trade clause in years two and three, they had a deal.

"Everything post-lockout is at warp speed," marveled Boras.

"Before getting on the Zoom call, I walked into the room [where] my wife was feeding the baby. And I said, 'Babe, there might be a good chance we're going to Minnesota,' " Correa said. "She was like, 'Really? That quick?' "

She joined the call, listened to Falvey and Baldelli and Levine make their case for the Twins. Boras, whose clients include young Twins Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Ryan Jeffers and Austin Martin, mentioned how much talent the team is assembling.

"They made me feel like this was the place for me. They made me feel like this was going to be my next home," Correa said. "When I got off the Zoom call, I told Scott, 'Let's make it happen.' And I told my wife to start packing. We're going to Minnesota, we're going to have fun and help the organization win.

"So here we are. Very excited."