Twins’ Carlos Correa tells Puerto Rican newspaper opting out of contract ‘is the right decision’

Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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Shortstop Carlos Correa told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día that he will exercise his opt-out clause with the Twins and become a free agent.

“With the year that I have had, my health and my being at the best moment of my career, that is the right decision,” the two-time all-star told the newspaper.

Before the 2022 season, Correa, 28, signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins that contained opt-out clauses following the 2022 and ’23 seasons. He gave a strong indication at the end of the regular season that he would opt out, saying that his decision was “very simple.”

Earlier this month, he told Twins reporters, “I love this team. I love this organization. But at the same time, I want to make sure that my son and my family are taken care of. Hopefully, the Twins can see the player that I am, the person that I am, the passion that I have for this game and the love that I have for this game. And we can get into some serious conversations.”

Twins management has never given a player the kind of long-term deal Correa wants, but Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said Monday in his annual season-ending news conference that the team had not given up on putting together some kind of deal to bring Correa back.

Correa led the Twins in most hitting statistics this season. He batted .291 with 22 home runs and 24 doubles in 136 games, and his numbers over the final month were his strongest all season. He was also a clubhouse leader from the very start — as well as a fan favorite.

He came to the Twins after seven ultra-successful seasons with the Astros in Houston, where he was the American League rookie of the year in 2015, won a World Series in 2017 and twice was an all-star (in 2017 and 2021).

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