Twins land Correa; Castellanos to Phils

All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa agreed early Saturday to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

The move ends Correa’s seven-season tenure with the Astros. He will earn $35.1 million annually under the deal and can opt out after the 2022 and 2023 seasons to become a free agent again.

Correa’s move to Minnesota was a surprise, given the team’s last-place finish in the AL Central a year ago at 73-89.

His average salary becomes baseball’s fourth-highest behind Mets pitcher Max Scherzer ($43.3 million), Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million) and Angels outfielder Mike Trout ($35.5 million).

A two-time All-Star who was the first pick in the 2012 amateur draft, Correa led the Astros’ turnaround. Houston lost more than 100 games each year from 2011-13, then won its first World Series title by beating the Dodgers in seven games in 2017.

Correa had a career-best 26 home runs last year to go along with a .279 batting average and 92 RBIs. He finished fifth in AL MVP voting and won his first Gold Glove. He has a .277 career average with 133 homers and 489 RBIs in seven major-league seasons.

Phillies land Castellanos: Outfielder Nick Castellanos and the Phillies have agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract

It was the second big freeagent splash in the past week for Philadelphia after Kyle Schwarber agreed Wednesday to a four-year contract worth about $80 million, a deal that also was pending a successful physical.

Castellanos batted .309 with 34 homers, 100 RBIs and a .939 OPS last year for the Reds, making his first All-Star team and winning a Silver Slugger Award. He is a .278 career hitter with 168 home runs, 594 RBIs and an .814 OPS in nine majorleague seasons with the Tigers, Cubs and Reds.

More moves: Former Giants left-hander Drew Smyly agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Cubs. Smyly was 11-4 with a 4.48 ERA for the Braves last season . ... Reliever Joe Smith, who was a combined 4-4 with a 4.99 ERA for the Astros and Mariners in 2021, agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Twins . ... Infielder Pat Valaika, who played the past two seasons with the Orioles, signed a oneyear, $775,000 deal with the Braves.