Grading 15 of the biggest MLB contracts from the offseason’s spending spree
By Bill Felber
Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins
The Twins won, if that’s not too strong a term for it, a three-team winter bidding marathon that saw Correa pass successively through the Giants, Mets and them. The cost to Minnesota: $33.33 million, eventually rising to $200 million through 2028.
Given that Minnesota won the AL Central with Correa as their starting shortstop, it’s hard to come down too strongly on that deal. But given his personal production, it’s tempting.
In 135 games, Correa batted just .230. It was the worst season of his career, 61 percentage points below his 2022 average and 47 points below his career average.
The subsidiary numbers weren’t any better. Correa turned in a 94 OPS+, another personal full-season worst, with a .312 on base average that was also a personal worst.
His 2023 WAR works out to +1.4, which is sub-par for MLB regulars, and his -2.6 Win Probability Added was easily the worst among the 15 $20 million-plus deals signed in 2023.
It’s always dicey to knock paying big money to a star talent when the paying team actually qualified for postseason play. Maybe Correa, who has a reputation as a clubhouse presence, played some role in the team’s success that transcends the data. Maybe he’s the 2023 version of the 2016 Jason Heyward, whose sub-par on field play for the Cubs was offset by a locker room speech rallying the team to victory late in Game 7 of that year’s World Series.
Based only on what we can measure, though, the Correa signing was a major bust. Transactional grade: D