Derek Falvey was sitting next to his wife on his couch at home on Tuesday night when he received a text from agent Scott Boras. Carlos Correa, Boras' client, was signing with the San Francisco Giants for 13 years and $350 million.
Failure to keep Carlos Correa means Twins must turn to trading for talent
With few quality options remaining on the free-agent market, the Twins need to improve their roster by making some trades before the start of the 2023 season.
December 15, 2022 at 12:15PM
The Twins' final offer was 10 years for $285 million, which would have easily set franchise records for length and money.
Had the Twins matched the Giants' offer in terms of contract length, they probably would have regretted it, if not in the next eight years then almost certainly thereafter.
By the last years of this contract, Correa will be making a pro-rated $27 million to, likely, play a position other than shortstop and bat toward the bottom of the order. The Twins made a remarkable offer to a currently-excellent player who has played in 135 games in a season only three times and has finished in the top 15 of MVP voting just once.
That's not the way Falvey was looking at it on Wednesday. The Twins president felt regret that the Twins lost out on a player they value as a person as well as a performer.
Did the offer of 13 years knock the Twins out of the competition?
"That was what tipped the scales,'' Falvey said. "Maybe I'm just telling myself this, but maybe it took an offer of that length to get him to want to leave, to have that kind of gap in the offers.
"Based on the conversations we were having, it felt like there was definitely strong mutual interest and ultimately, sometimes, it's a business and that's a part of it. When I talked to Carlos (Tuesday) night, he said nothing but awesome things about the environment he enjoyed with the Twins and our group and how much he enjoyed his time here. It was a very amicable conversation.''
Falvey said Joe Pohlad, the Twins' new executive chair, was willing to go to record lengths to land Correa. "Joe was very much in the conversation from the get-go through the course of the summer and through the fall,'' Falvey said. "I would say that when we got to a place where I was comfortable recommending that we went to this level, thinking about how it would impact our team not only this year but for the next decade, Joe was extremely supportive.''
The Twins acquired shortstop Kyle Farmer in a trade with the Reds, and he is currently considered their starter. He hits lefthanded pitching much better than righthanded pitching, so the Twins could look to add a platoon player in a trade.
The Twins also hope that top prospect Royce Lewis, a shortstop rehabbing after a second ACL surgery, can return by midseason. They selected Brooks Lee, a shortstop, in the first round of the draft, and he is rising through the system quickly. They also have Austin Martin, a sometimes shortstop, in the system, and are high on Nick Gordon, although Gordon is considered more of a utility player than an everyday shortstop.
"We have Kyle, and we have some young players we think are going to be a part of it in the event that we weren't able to retain Carlos,'' Falvey said. "We've always had it in our mind that Royce has the ability to play shortstop. We're really excited about him.
"I don't look at it like we don't have someone to play shortstop. Kyle Farmer has been an everyday shortstop the last few years, he's a good defensive player, a good teammate and a good fit on a lot of fronts.''
The Twins aren't likely to land the last big-name free-agent shortstop on the market, Dansby Swanson. He is thought to be interested in either staying in Atlanta or playing in Chicago for personal reasons.
The best free-agent pitcher remaining on the market, Carlos Rodon, is thought to be headed to the Yankees.
The Twins' current payroll, adjusted for likely earned incentives for the 2023 season, is about $110 million. That could increase if they trade for established players.
After signing catcher Christian Vasquez, they are thought to be prioritizing two positions: platoon shortstops and frontline starting pitchers. They have a depth of position-playing talent in the organization and could trade either certain big-leaguers (such as Max Kepler, Luis Arraez and Sonny Gray) or prospects.
Falvey has little choice but to switch from pursuing big-name free agents to pursuing trades.
"When I talked to Carlos, I told him how much I appreciated him, and the friendship we built and how he impacted me and our organization,'' Falvey said. "It was an opportunity for me to let him know I appreciated what he had done over the course of the last year for us.''
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa is arguably their best player and easily their most expensive one. He’s frequently injured and a payroll-strapped team is up for sale. It feels like the Twins can’t afford to keep Correa, but the same is true of losing him.
