Carlos Correa, healthy after foot injuries, stays upbeat about Twins despite payroll constraints

Carlos Correa has been dubbed an honorary assistant general manager during his Twins tenure because the shortstop is willing to share ideas with the front office on players he thinks the team should add and his thoughts on the best ways to develop players.

In an offseason in which the Twins haven’t signed any major league free agents or completed any significant trades, Correa is understanding of the team’s reality. The Twins’ payroll is already pushing the upper limits of their budget while the Pohlad family explores a sale of the club.

“I focus on the things I can control,” Correa said Saturday at TwinsFest. “I’ve been having conversations with them, and we’re in a spot now where we cannot invest, and it is what it is. You’ve got to live with that, and you’ve got to go out and play with the players that you have.”

Correa, 30, has four years remaining on his original six-year, $200 million contract. The Twins have no intention of entering a rebuild with many of their core players in the prime years of their careers, but they’ll be tasked with improving an 82-win team with largely the same group of players.

“I feel like the talent is in this clubhouse,” Correa said. “We’ve just got to put it all together. The veterans, we’ve got to stay on the field, and the young guys go to the next level. I think we’re going to be in a good spot. I don’t worry too much about that stuff.”

There was speculation at the beginning of the offseason about whether the Twins would listen to offers on Correa because of their payroll constraints. Nothing materialized as the Twins made clear he wouldn’t be a part of a salary dump, but Correa was never concerned about his status.

“I don’t worry about that, brother,” Correa said, “because one, I’m not on social media too much. I’m with my kids all day. And two, I’ve got a full no-trade clause. Let me tell you something: I love Minnesota, and I love the fishing here.”

Recovering from plantar fasciitis for the second consecutive offseason, Correa is confident he is in a much better spot entering the upcoming season.

Correa required a two-month stint on the injured list last year because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was left disappointed that he couldn’t continue his All-Star season, producing some of the best offensive numbers of his career (.310 batting average, 14 homers and 54 RBI in 86 games), and his return for the final two weeks of the season couldn’t save the Twins from their six-week collapse that cost them a playoff spot.

“I’m ready to go, full go for spring training,” Correa said. “I’ve been sprinting. I’ve been running around. I’ve been doing about everything. I’ve been focused on not only just treatment but also strengthening. A lot of walking barefoot around the house. All that’s helping work on my toes and all that, so I’m in a really good spot.”

The pain and discomfort in Correa’s foot dissipated a couple of months after the season ended. He developed a regular preventive maintenance routine, which includes shock wave therapy, after consulting with a foot specialist in Los Angeles.

He’s ahead of where he was at this point last year, following plantar fasciitis in his left foot, because he’s already hitting, running and taking ground balls.

“I wear shoes with better support on the arch, so I don’t have as much pressure on my heels, and I’m more careful with the surfaces that I sprint on,” Correa said. “I’m not sprinting on concrete anymore. I’m running more and more in the grass, and more and more on the dirt like I would on a baseball field.

“I would say this time it’s been more natural. It’s been more treatment and just a lot of exercise — a lot of exercise. I can say I’m in a great spot. I’m in a spot where I don’t feel anything.”

New Twins hitting coach Matt Borgschulte traveled to Houston to spend two days with Correa. Borgschulte raved about the experience to other Twins staff.

“We went to work out together. We hit. He went to my kids’ jujitsu class with us, so he got to see the full family experience and everything,” Correa said. “We text pretty much every other day, so the relationship is already there.”

Spring training is approaching, even after 3 inches of snow in Houston that left Correa and his two young sons throwing snowballs at each other with batting gloves on, and Correa says a focus is turning the chapter after a bitter end to last season.

“It was tough, but you’ve got to just flush it down the drain and just focus on the next one,” Correa said. “I feel like we have a great team. We have a lot of young guys with so much potential, and if we put in the work we’re going to be in a great spot.”