Could Carlos Correa be a trade target for the Seattle Mariners?
The Minnesota Twins may be looking to shed salary, should the Mariners try to take advantage?
The Minnesota Twins are looking to shed salary and have reportedly fielded calls on former All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa. Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune recently shared this quote from the Twins’ president of baseball operations, Derek Falvey:
“Obviously, you expect teams to call on players like that, especially with where we are and some of the conversations we’re having with other clubs,” Falvey said of Correa, as relayed by Nightengale. “But we want to win, so a high bar is set.”
Seattle happens to be scouring the market for a middle infielder that can hit, and Correa certainly is that, posting a 155 wRC+ in 367 plate appearances in 2024. The 30-year-old Puerto Rican native doesn’t come without a significant injury history and a high dollar contract (more on that in a minute), though. Let’s carve through some of the reasons this may or may not be an opportunity for Seattle.
The Contract
Oof. Correa signed a six-year, $200 million contract in 2023 as a free agent. By AAV, he will make the most in 2025 at $37 million. The contract also includes vesting option for years 2029-2032 based on plate appearances.
What the Spotrac screen snip doesn’t tell us, is that Correa has a full no-trade clause. He would have to accept any deal the Twins could come to an agreement on, and there’s no telling how he feels about Seattle. We know that during his 2023 free agency saga, he agreed to deals with San Francisco and the New York Mets, only to have them fall through after medical concerns caused agent Scott Boras to return to the negotiation table the Minnesota.
That doesn’t tell us much, but Correa at least would have been comfortable with playing on the west coast, being in the bay area.
The dollar figure is likely a “no” from the start for Mariners ownership, but we have seen them present willingness to spend for the right player (Vlad Guerrero Jr.) if the opportunity presented itself. Given the injury history and age, I’m not convinced Correa is the type of player they would be willing to risk spending over $150 million dollar on on his ages 30-33 seasons.
The Trade Cost
It is virtually impossible to know what the Twins would be looking for in return for Correa, other than salary relief. Does that mean prospects? Young, controllable MLB players? It’s tough to see a situation where the Mariners would give up a pitcher like Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller in exchange for an aging and expensive shortstop. Plus, the Twins really don’t have a strong need for a rotation arm with Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods-Richardson in place. If they traded Correa for prospects, the fan base would riot. They need offense and they need it cheap, much like Seattle.
The one idea I have seen that could make this work, is if Minnesota wants to try and build the best rotation in baseball and would be willing to swap Correa for Luis Castillo. It saves them roughly $13 million dollars this year and around $8 million in 2026 and 2027, plus it gets them off the hook for Correa’s $31 million in 2028 and any potential vested options.
Would Seattle be interested in that? Would Luis Castillo void his no-trade clause and accept a deal to Minnesota, and Correa to Seattle?
It all seems highly unlikely.
While Carlos Correa makes a lot of sense in terms of position and production, it is difficult to see a deal that lines up with both teams needs, even without considering the NTC.
If Seattle wanted Correa, it simply should’ve offered him a contract as a free agent. That ship has sailed, and likely so has the idea of Correa being a Seattle Mariner.
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