MLB trade deadline talk: Should the Minnesota Twins trade Carlos Correa?

The Minnesota Twins made a huge splash this past offseason by signing Carlos Correa. They were able to trade away Josh Donaldson and newly acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the New York Yankees, a move that took off roughly $27 million from the 2022 payroll, giving an organization that typically is not a big spender more freedom to sign a big-name star.

It was an intriguing deal, similar to Trevor Bauer’s from the previous offseason. Correa signed for three years to a contract that provided him with a significant average annual value of around $35 million, but also had opt-outs after his first and second seasons.

Carlos Correa has had a solid season so far for the Minnesota Twins … but should they trade him before an opt-out kicks in?

Through 70 games, he has tallied a .279/.353/.450 slash line for a .803 OPS and 130 WRC+, along with still giving the team some pretty good defense. His production has helped the Twins get to first place in the American League Central as they entered Friday sitting two games up on the Cleveland Guardians.

Everything looked promising for the Twins as they built their team reasonably well, even with the starting rotation injuries. Many young players have made an impact, including Trevor Larnach, Alex Kiriloff, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Nick Gordon to name a few. This team looked like it could be a solid contender for the next few seasons around their new star acquisition.

Then it came out not too long ago that Correa intended to use his opt-out this upcoming offseason and head back into free agency. Minnesota does have the previously mentioned prospect, Royce Lewis, available to slot into shortstop next season. He looked fantastic in just 12 games this season, putting up a .867 OPS with six extra-base hits. So shortstop will hopefully be covered for the future, but should they just let the value of Correa walk?

There is the option to trade Correa before the upcoming trade deadline as he would have a good value. A fair amount of other contending teams would have interest in Correa, such as the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, to name a couple. Other teams could also come in if they adjust where their current shortstop plays, such as the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres (a weird one, I know), Seattle Mariners, and St. Louis Cardinals.

With the Twins sitting in first place in their division, there could certainly be value in keeping Correa. They can wait to see if they are a strong contender this season and use that success to try and convince Correa into staying. There have not been a lot of rumblings about potential trades, so this appears to be the way the team is heading. But is it the right way?

I think the argument for trading Correa makes more sense when looking at the team’s current situation. Their injury-plagued rotation leaves them with a wobbly leg to stand on come the postseason. Chris Paddack needed Tommy John surgery, so he is not coming back. Kenta Maeda has the potential to come back, but even if he does, the team has said that he will come out of the bullpen if his recovery goes as planned. With that said, baseball is a sport that is very hard to predict, so they could always go on a hot streak.

I believe they should use Correa to acquire more assets that can be with the team for longer. The Twins could even use those players in a combination of their own to trade for a different star-level guy with more team control. I think this benefits the team more in the long term, which makes the most sense to me when they don’t appear to be in the best situation for a big playoff run with the Yankees and Houston Astros looming in the AL postseason.

Even from a salary standpoint, it makes more sense to use the money Correa is getting paid on a starting pitcher to help their most glaring need rather than on Correa next season when they have Lewis waiting in the wings.

I am interested to hear what other people are thinking about this, as it is a challenging situation for Minnesota. People could be upset with either direction, so doing what’s best for the franchise makes sense … but what’s best can differ depending on who you ask.

Make a run for the playoffs and potentially a World Series if it all works out … or make a move that hopefully gives you more opportunities and a better chance to win a World Series in the future. What would you do? Let us know in the comments section below.