South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Correa, Twins agree to deal
Star shortstop Carlos Correa agreed early Saturday to a three-year, $105.3 million with the Twins, according to reports Saturday.
The agreement is subject to a physical.
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, 27, picking the Twins was a surprise, given they have lost 18 consecutive postseason games and finished last 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. The club 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.
The Astros went on to AL pennants and World Series losses in 2019 and last year, gaining infamy for their cheating scandal that was revealed after the
2019 season. 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.
Correa, the 2015 AL rookie of the year, also has been a stellar postseason performer with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 79 games.
The Twins haven’t been to the World Series since winning the 1991 title and have lost their last eight postseason series since beating the A’s in a 2002 AL Division Series.
Since the end of the lockout, the Twins acquired right-hander Sonny Gray from the Reds and catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela from the Yankees.
Before the work stoppage, the Twins signed pitcher Dylan Bundy to a one-year, $5 million.
Phillies land Castellanos:
Free-agent slugger Nick Castellanos and the Phillies agreed to a five-year,
$100 million contract, according to reports Friday night.
The agreement is subject to a physical.
It was the second big free-agent splash this week for the Phillies, who are beefing up their lineup to compete with the busy Braves and Mets in the NL East. Kyle Schwarber agreed Wednesday to a four-year contract worth about $80 million.
Castellanos, 30, 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’s a .278 career hitter with 168 home runs, 594 RBIs and an .814 OPS in nine major league seasons with the Tigers, Cubs and Reds.
A corner outfielder with a suspect glove, Castellanos joins reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper in the middle of a Phillies lineup that also features All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.
The Phillies finished
82-80 last season, extending their postseason drought to an NL-worst
10 years.