The villain of baseball since the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal has been Carlos Correa. Correa is a Puerto Rican born, 28 year old shortstop with 8 years of MLB experience. Most famous for his role in the cheating scandal. But he’s also known for his free agency decision which came unexpectedly late and to a surprise team in the Minnesota Twins. His contract with the Twins is a 3 year deal, structured with player options after each year. Each year being worth 35 million dollars. This unique contract has allowed Correa to either stay with the Twins or pursue free agency for a second time. Correa has a laundry list of awards including Rookie of the year, 2x All star, Gold and Platinum Gloves. He is one of the premier shortstops in baseball.
The reason why I’m even writing about Correa is not because his stats are impressive but rather to see how they stack up after his most recent quote to the media. It should be noted that the Minnesota Twins have failed to make the playoffs coming third in the AL central. But when you look at Correa’s stats it’s clear he wasn’t the reason why. (Hint: its their pitching staff) First let’s take a look at this quote:
“When I go to the mall, and I go to the Dior store and I want something, I get it,” “I ask how much it costs, and I buy it. So, if you really want something, you just go get it. I’m the product here, and if they want my product, they just have got to come get it.”
What this quote tells me is that Correa is confident that other teams will offer him enough to opt out with the Twins. I think he probably knows his numbers are good enough. But what do the statistics really say about Correa? Is he the Product?
Let’s start with the basics:
2022: 22 HR, 63 RBI, 60 BB, 118 SO, .287 BA, .363 OBP, .467 SLG, .830 OPS, 138 OPS+
All of his numbers are very similar, just a few points lower in SLG, OPS, OBP and HR than in 2021. But if you look at his f-WAR it’s 4.4. His b-WAR is 5.4. (f-WAR is Fangraph WAR and b-WAR is baseball reference WAR) His f-WAR last year? 6.2. The biggest difference was his defensive WAR went down from 14.8 to 2.1 in 2022. He’s just been less effective at defense because only 9 errors compared to 11 in 2021.
In comparison to other shortstops in the league he still ranks in the bottom of the top 10 for WAR with about 7-8 shortstops ahead. I think Correa numbers do justify him getting a big deal. I also think the Minnesota Twins failed to put together the right team around him. In fairness, Correa has the highest OPS+ on his team. The next best OPS+ is 135 by Byron Buxton. Buxton is currently hurt but did sign an extension with the Twins for 7 years 100 million dollars as a Center Fielder. I think Correa’s comments are probably unnecessary but if he’s willing to opt out and take a new huge contract, no team would be sorry to have him.
Update: I wrote this before he signed and Correa has signed with the San Francisco Giants. He signed a 13 year 350 million dollar deal. A record for a shortstop. Correa failed his physical, and is a free agent again.
Thanks for reading! Consider following or subscribing to the blog. Also checkout my social media page!
Thanks to Baseball Reference and Baseball Savant for the statistics.
Technically Analytics 