'I Thought It Was A Dummy Twitter Account': Twins Fans Shocked By $105M Carlos Correa Deal
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- At roughly $105 million over three years, the Twins' reported deal with Carlos Correa is the biggest free agency signing in franchise history, and an unusual feeling for long-suffering Twins fans.
"Right when I woke up I saw my news feed blowing up. I was pretty excited," said Twins fan Marc Kieser from Woodbury.
The news, first reported at 12:41 a.m. Saturday, brings the top free agent in the game, of all places, to Minnesota.
"It's a big move. clearly they mean business and they want to win this year," said Brian Loots of Minnetonka.
Former WCCO Sports Director Mark Rosen has been covering the Twins for decades. All the more reason for disbelief.
"I thought it wasn't real. I thought it was a dummy Twitter account," Rosen said.
Correa is a bonified star. He's third in baseball, in the Wins Above replacement stat. That means there's almost no one more valuable.
"It's a sure sign that at least they're serious for once," said Rosen. "The Twins are not ones to go out and spend this kind of money on anyone."
Perhaps a sign of change for the notoriously frugal franchise, who's baseball boss, Derek Falvey is entering his sixth season.
"The old country club feel is kind of out. And it's like no, we wanna win. We wanna be competitive and we gotta spend some money to do it." said Loots.
Correa won the World Series in 2017 with the Astros. A title turned sign stealing scandal, with Correa at the forefront.
"Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will clean it up when he comes to the Twins; but will bring that same edge and leadership to our team so we can go and repeat what they did in the World Series," said Kieser.
"Are you gonna tell me as a Twins fan, 'I don't want Carlos Correa because his team did something that was tawdry to try to win a World Series?' We don't even know the specifics of it. No. Bring him on," said Rosen.
Some reports said the Twins were pursuing Trevor Story, another free agent shortstop -- not at the level of Correa. There is no official announcement yet. Correa is expected to join the team at Spring training on Sunday.