Did the Minnesota Twins get a deal on Carlos Correa, or taken for a ride?

Carlos Correa has had a long road to end up where he started, signing three deals with three teams for a total of over $800 million in the past few months. Signing him has never been the problem. Getting past the physical examination has. One by one, the mega-deals fell through when doctors questioned his right ankle.

With the $350 million deal signed with San Francisco collapsed, and the $300 million deal with the Mets out of the way, Correa has finally gotten past the team’s doctors and signed with the Twins for $200 million. The question is, did they just get the steal of the century or were they lumbered with a pig in a poke?

The right lower leg

Both the Giants and the Mets balked at completing their huge deals based on concerns around Correa’s surgically rebuilt right fibula. And while it is certain that some doctors viewed this as an issue, one has to question their reasoning.

If their concerns are simply a cover-your-ass kind of statement; a sort of “well this might be something to look at in time” type of report; then they are of course justified. But doctors are not soothsayers. They are spectacular at telling you what has happened to your body, but notoriously lacking in saying what will happen to a body in the future.

Correa seemed to be taken aback by all of the fuss, saying, “I had a lot of doctors tell me I was fine. I had some doctors that said it wasn’t so fine. It was shocking to me because since I had this surgery, I’ve never missed a game. I never got treatment on my ankle. My ankle has never hurt.”

And he has a point. His leg was broken when he was still a minor leaguer. All of his success in the big leagues; from Rookie of the Year in 2015, to World Series champion, to two-time All Star and Platinum Glove winner; came about after the surgery in 2014. He has had no trouble becoming one of the most talented and dominant shortstops in baseball, all with a rebuilt leg.

Minnesota Nice

The $200 million over six years that the Twins are paying Correa represents an average annual value that is actually higher than his original 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants would have netted him. But the money isn’t the true value of this contract. The devil, as ever, is in the detail.

Unlike the three-year, $105 million deal that lured him away from Houston just one year ago, this new negotiation comes with a full no-trade clause and no opt-outs. That $200 million is his, guaranteed. And no matter what, Carlos Correa is a Minnesota Twin for the next six years.

And while the fans around the league may be eager to make jokes about his medical prognostic, particularly Dodger fans who have never knowingly forgiven any Houston player, the truth is that there is no evidence that Correa’s leg is any more of a risk than anyone else’s.

The big difference with the Giants and the Mets were that those two teams were contenders, building a strong roster, who could use Correa to bolster an already impressive lineup. This is particularly true for the Mets, who would have been looking to add a formidable weapon to their already first-class roster.

The Twins, on the other hand, are a team who lack a strong direction. They are not pushovers, but neither are they a force to be reckoned with. And that can be forgiven of a team as long as they are in the middle of a rebuild. Unfortunately, there is no sign of a meaningful rebuild underway in the twin cities.

Make no mistake about it: the Twins got the deal of the century in Carlos Correa. He will provide years of excellent play for Minnesota, perhaps an MVP or another Gold Glove along the way. But until they decide to direct their focus on getting in some help on their roster, particularly in their bullpen, they will be little more than a strong sparring partner for the rest of the league.