Carlos Correa contract details: Twins shock baseball world

The Minnesota Twins were not on the short list to sign Carlos Correa, to say the least. But they used money saved in a trade with the Yankees to sign the best shortstop available.

The Twins were able to ship over $40 million of salary to the Yankees in a deal which sent Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx. Sure, New York got their shortstop of the future, but they couldn’t have known what was brewing in Minnesota.

The truth is, no one did.

While the Twins were linked to Trevor Story after shedding all that salary, Correa was thought to be out of reach. The Scott Boras client wanted a long-term deal over $300 million, a contract Minnesota — and most teams for that matter — weren’t willing to pay.

But after midnight in the wee hours of Friday morning on the East Coast, the Twins shocked baseball.

Carlos Correa contract

Correa signed a three-year deal worth $105.3 million, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract includes opt-outs after the first and second years, should Correa want to test the market. It’s a smart idea by Boras, Correa’s new agent, who understands the money simply isn’t there for Correa to sign a decade-long deal north of $350 million, as was his goal to start the offseason.

The lockout, along with the cheap nature of MLB team owners, made a short-term contract a better expectation and, in the end, potentially just as lucrative should Correa deliver.

Twins depth chart

With Kiner-Falefa in New York, there is no one blocking Correa from taking over the starting shortstop position. Expect him to report to Minnesota’s camp promptly, once the details of said deal are made official.

Nick Gordon is currently listed as the starting shortstop, per MLB.com, but that should change quickly.

Twins lineup

The Twins Opening Day lineup could theoretically be quite dangerous, when looking from the outside in.

Assuming everyone stays healthy, that is not a group any team in the AL Central wants to see on a bad day.