FORT MYERS, Fla. — A record $865 million in contract agreed to over the winter (including $665 million in a contract canceled due to a 10-year-old ankle injury), with the 2023 season ruled out. After plantar fasciitis in his side foot diminished the extraordinary talent, however, it didn’t prevent him from making an enjoyable playoff run to begin a $200 million contract with the Twins, superstar shortstop Carlos Correa There were no hard feelings.
He said it had never happened before and never would.
“I’m a simple guy. I’m a level-headed guy,” Correa told the Post on Saturday. “I don’t hold any grudges. It’s just the nature of sports. It’s the nature of business. You have to move on. You can’t let things like that consume you.
“I have two children now, so I have to set a good example. I am very happy with the life God has given me so far and where He has placed me. I am.”
Correa isn’t thinking about his first canceled $350 million, 13-year Giants contract, or his later canceled $315 million, 12-year late-night Mets contract. These were intended to solve two obvious surprising problems (third) protection of Pete Alonso’s base and lineup). Correa doesn’t think about what happened.
“If you know me, you know that I trust God… [and] Focus on what you can control. That’s how I handled the whole situation,” Correa said. “From a certain point, it got out of my control and the numbers I achieved and all my accomplishments stopped mattering. Only that one injury I sustained in 2014 has bothered me ever since. did not.”
For him, the shock of financial loss was a footnote, no joke. At the time, he admitted he was surprised. But he now considers it a blessing.
“This will probably never happen again in baseball,” Correa said of the termination of two-thirds of his $1 billion contract. “But at the same time, that’s what got me here and I’m very happy with it. Looking back now… if it was a 13-year, 12-year contract, it wouldn’t have been great for me and for my family. This is a better situation considering what I want for the future and how involved I want to be in my children’s lives.”
Correa was initially believed to be obsessed with big cities and big stages — his postseason accomplishments (home run on Oct. 18) were near legendary — and he still loves trips to Yankee Stadium. That’s what he said. But he was encouraged by the October excitement the Twins caused last year.
“From what I’ve seen from Minnesota fans during the postseason, we can try to bring baseball back to Minnesota like it was when we had Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew.” [Harmon] Killebrew was playing,” Correa said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Correa also once welcomed the possibility of moving to third base.
From his time at the WBC, he said he felt it was “a lot easier” and believed he could gain more power, and perhaps even more endurance, by not wearing clothing. But once it became clear how concerned the Mets were, he “put it in God’s hands” and told agent Scott Boras he was playing in 2022 on an increasingly popular “pillow” contract. He instructed him to re-sign with the Twins. .
No matter the outcome, he would have been happy, he said.
“The result was Minnesota, and I couldn’t be happier,” Correa said. “It’s a group of people I already know and a city that has already accepted me as one of them. Minnesota has been a great place for me and my family. We love it there and the lake… I love you too.”
He also won three division titles in five years and broke an improbable 18-game losing streak in the playoffs (fairly or unfairly, 13 of those losses came against the Yankees, who had the same number). ), I also like the teams that have advanced to the second division. Second round. Even so, the team is loaded with talent.
Every team’s biggest spring goal is to stay healthy, and that means here. Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis are all first or second overall picks, and while Correa is arguably the luckiest of the three, all three have suffered greatly due to injuries and being on the IL.
Correa missed 2023 with a sore foot, Luis had two reconstructive knee surgeries, and Buxton was so mentally unstable that he missed as many games as he played due to injury. Buxton told me we needed to do something different. So he said he’s setting a more realistic goal of 140 games this year instead of 160.
This may be the greatest team in baseball (Minnesota Nice here), but it’s definitely one of the unluckiest. If you try your best, it can be scary (in a good way). Catcher Ryan Jeffers (.858 OPS) is one of the most underrated stars in the game, Edouard Julien has a shot at the batting title, and Minnesota native Matt Wallner is a 2024 prospect. It was a revelation.
With the rise of the aforementioned young players and the performance of their three biggest positional talents, led by Correa, Twins team president Derek Falvey said they are in a “much better situation.”
As for Correa and how it turned out, he said he feels he’s in the right place.
