Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday that they placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the 10-day injured list with a right middle finger contusion.

The stint on the IL is retroactive to May 6. Correa suffered the injury by fouling a ball off his hand during a May 5 game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Correa, a two-time All-Star and 2015 American League Rookie of the Year, is hitting .255 (.693 OPS) with two home runs and 11 RBI in his first year with Minnesota. The shortstop signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins this offseason.

Correa spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Houston Astros. He hit .279 (.850 OPS) with 26 home runs and 92 RBI in 2021. Thanks in part to his efforts, the 95-67 Astros won the AL pennant.

Correa was an instrumental part of the Astros' success since 2017, which has included five playoff appearances, three American League pennants and a World Series title.

Without Correa, the Twins have turned to Royce Lewis at shortstop.

It turns out Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't the only talented person in his family.

The Hamilton playwright's cousin, Jose Miranda, made his MLB debut Monday with the Minnesota Twins, leading to a shoutout from Lin-Manuel:

I got a cousin in the Major Leagues! Felicidades Primo! All the Mirandas are cheering! -LMM https://t.co/jCs29QpFNH

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 3, 2022

Jose Miranda is the No. 3 prospect in the Twins organization and the No. 93 overall prospect in baseball. He's coming off a brilliant 2021 campaign that saw him hit 344/.401/.572 with 30 home runs and 94 RBI in the minors and earn the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year honors.

"I'm trying to stay calm, let the game come to me and play hard," Miranda said. "The team is playing really well right now, so it's a good moment to be here."

Miranda went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut, batting sixth in the order and playing third base. The Twins will likely use him in a utility role at third, second and first base.

Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel Sano will undergo surgery for a torn meniscus, and there is no timetable for his return.

Sano was previously placed on the injured list on Monday.

In his eighth MLB season, Sano has struggled mightily at the plate to start the 2022 campaign. He is slashing .093/.231/.148 with one home run and three RBI in 17 appearances.

Sano's average has been a major concern for years, as he has hit above .223 just once since the start of the 2018 season. Despite his .223 average last year, he was able to hit 30 homers and drive in 75 runs in 135 games.

This season, however, he has struggled both in terms of average and power at the plate.

The 2017 All-Star has missed at least 40 games in each of his full MLB seasons. While he was healthy in 2020, that came in a pandemic-shortened season. 

It's common for superhero alter egos to have alliterative names. Think Clark Kent. Or Bruce Banner. Or Peter Parker.

Or Byron Buxton, whose superpower is being the best player in Major League Baseball when he's able to play.

This is to say that, apart from that one caveat, we don't necessarily disagree with what Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli thinks about his $100 million center fielder:

Rocco Baldelli on @Twins @OfficialBuck103 Sunday: "I think he's absolutely the best player in the world"

Rocco today on @MLBNetworkRadio: "I don't know how you avoid saying something like that about Buck." pic.twitter.com/Pa6G4HSPen

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) April 26, 2022

As takes go, this is pretty hot. It would have been safer for Baldelli to name, say, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Nestor Cortes (sarcasm...sort of) as the best baseball player in the world.

The obvious complication in him naming Buxton is, well, obvious. As much as anything he does on the field, the 28-year-old is known for how often he's not on the field. He's missed literally hundreds of days to injuries since beginning his big league career in 2015, including a handful already this year with knee and hand ailments.

And yet, it says a lot that Buxton's case as baseball's best player is compelling even though his injury history is no great secret.

In just 14 games this season, he's already up to a 1.100 OPS and seven home runs. His OPS+ since the start of last year is up to 179, which tops all hitters who've taken at least 300 plate appearances.

Buxton has likewise put up 5.8 rWAR in his last 75 games, which computes to a 12.1-rWAR pace over a full season. Never mind Trout, Ohtani, Soto or Guerrero. Among position players, that's territory in which only Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby and Carl Yastrzemski have ever tread.

Such is the CliffsNotes version of Buxton's candidacy as baseball's best player, anyway. It was perhaps always meant to be this way, even if it took a little longer than expected for things to come together for him. 

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What Buxton Mainly Does

Here's a pretty good representation of what Buxton brings to the table as a hitter these days:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3jMYgq3HjQ?start=144

This was the second home run that Buxton hit on April 24 at Target Field against the Chicago White Sox, and certainly the more impressive of the two.

He turned around a 96 mph fastball from one of the league's top closers, hitting it 111.8 mph off the bat and ultimately 469 feet in distance. As Sarah Langs of MLB.com noted, it's the longest walk-off home run of the eight-year Statcast era.

That kind of contact has more or less been the norm for Buxton over the last two seasons, but especially so in 2022. The 97.5 mph he's averaging on batted balls is the best in the league. He's ahead of even New York Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who both have a couple of inches and dozens of pounds on the 6'2", 190-pound Buxton.

This is part of the whole "meant to be" thing. When MLB.com slotted Buxton into the No. 1 spot in its prospect rankings for the 2014 season, its report read in part: "Buxton's power has already been better than expected, and scouts expect it to improve more as he grows."

In addition to consistent playing time by way of injuries, demotions and non-promotions, what Buxton lacked in his early seasons—i.e., he slugged only .387 between 2015 and 2018—was a proper vessel through which he could realize his power. In simpler, less pretentious terms: It was a struggle for him to find the right stance in the box.

Whether the difference was in the placement of his feet, the arrangement of his legs or in the positioning of his hands, we spotted at least seven distinct stances when digging through Buxton's video archive:

And this is just his stances. He also had to try out various timing mechanisms, from more exaggerated leg kicks to more subtle toe taps.

The mechanics he has now—upright with his weight loaded on his back leg and his hands held high, with a timing device that's more toe tap than leg kick—are just about perfect. Specifically to the extent that they've helped turn one of his more notable flaws into a strength that few, if any, can match.

This would be his ability to hit the fastball, which is best seen in this graph of his slugging against fastballs through the years:

Between 2015 and 2018, Buxton was 335th in slugging against fastballs. He took a turn for the better in 2019, and more recently he owns a .768 slugging percentage against fastballs since the start of last season. That's the best in baseball by a wide margin, as no other hitter is even in the .700s with him.

The catch should be that Buxton also still swings and misses a fair deal (i.e., 29.7 percent this season) against fastballs, but that seems to actually work to his advantage. It's an incentive for pitchers to keep feeding him fastballs, which they are to the tune of a 55.9 percentage in 2022.

Such is the beauty of Buxton's rise as one of baseball's premier sluggers: He has both the engine and the plentiful supply of fuel to keep it going.

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What Buxton Also Does

Even before he broke out as a hitter, Buxton was tailor-made for the Statcast era in at least three ways.

For one, dude can run:

Byron Buxton had a sprint speed of 30.9 ft/sec on his infield single!

30.0 ft/sec is considered elite. pic.twitter.com/Dy1sw8B932

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 27, 2021

For two, dude can field:

Byron Buxton saves the game for now with a spectacular catch. 😱😱😱#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/vU8xpvb5QO

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 21, 2021

And for three, dude can throw:

It's largely thanks to these components that Buxton was able to have a star-caliber season in 2017 even as his hitting was below average by way of a 93 OPS+. He went 29-for-30 in stolen bases over 140 games, and he easily led all center fielders with 22 defensive runs saved to win his first Gold Glove.

If outs above average is a better measure of Buxton's defensive quality, well, so be it. His 60 OAA since 2016 ranks fourth among center fielders, though the only one of his peers who can match his 94 percent success rate making plays is three-time Gold Glover Kevin Kiermaier.

Thus far in 2022, about the only discernible red flag in these other phases of Buxton's game concerns his speed. He's averaging 28.2 feet per second on his sprints, marking the first time in his career that his average sprint has slipped below 30 feet per second.

It's a bit early to read too much into that, however. Even setting aside the scare he had with his knee, the bad weather that Buxton and the Twins have played in so far this year hasn't exactly been conducive to running. 

If Buxton's speed eventually does come around, he's going to conclude the year with a veritable pile of highlights that have nothing to do with his bat. In this way, at least, his 2022 season will be no different from any season that came before.

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What Buxton Doesn't Always Do

Lest anyone think that injuries are Buxton's only real flaw, even we're a little turned off by his general disregard for free passes.

He's walked in only 5.9 percent of his career plate appearances, which ranks among the lowest rates among all hitters since the 2015 season. This is also an area of the game where he's not getting better. His walk rate thus far in 2022 is a minuscule 3.4 percent.

Paradoxically, though, Buxton isn't an entirely undisciplined hitter. Far from a Javier Baez or a Salvador Perez, he's been more of an Eric Hosmer with his rate of swings outside the strike zone over the last two seasons. Though certainly a lesser one, it's yet another reason why the quality of his contact has improved so dramatically.

As for how all the injuries can be explained away...well, fine. You've got us there.

There's nary a part of his body that hasn't been banged up at some point or another, and the causes have ranged from unexplained breakdowns to literal bad breaks. His 2021 season was a microcosm in these regards, as his hip strain seemed to come out of nowhere while his broken hand was the direct result of a hit-by-pitch.

The psychological strain of all these injuries, meanwhile, can't be discounted.

"He's beyond upset. And that's what I would expect from him," Baldelli told reporters after Buxton broke his hand on a hit-by-pitch last year. "I think the number of traumas, physically, that he's had to deal with, and because of that, emotionally, when you have to deal with that many types of things, difficult things, it's hard on you."

But especially in this context, it's encouraging downright impressive that Buxton has been able to get on and thus far maintain an upward trajectory into superstardom. And even if his injury history can't be disregarded as one great, big warning of future injuries to come, what matters most is that Buxton is healthy in the here and now.

So, might as well enjoy what he has to offer while he's offering it. And since he's the only player in baseball right now who's as elite at slugging as he is at fielding, running and throwing, suffice it to say there's a lot to enjoy.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton reportedly did not suffer any structural damage after exiting his team's 8-4 road win over the Boston Red Sox with right knee soreness Friday.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Fox Sports, the ailment will "probably will require a week or so off."

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli provided a Saturday update, via Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com:

MRI on Byron Buxton's sore right knee showed no structural issues, Rocco said. No roster move for now. They plan for him to go to KC with the team.

"It might be a day-to-day thing right now, roster move-wise, in just what we're going to do and what we learn more about Buck."

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 16, 2022

Buxton suffered the injury after sliding into second base on a leadoff double. Nick Gordon replaced him in the lineup.

Byron Buxton left today's game after sliding into second.

(via @BallySportsNOR)pic.twitter.com/RDKxlOqPLA

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 15, 2022

The 28-year-old Buxton already has three home runs in seven games this year.

The eight-year MLB veteran broke out offensively in 2021 with 19 home runs, 32 RBI, a .306 batting average and 1.005 OPS in 61 games. After the year, he signed a seven-year, $100 million extension with the Twins.

Unfortunately, Buxton has suffered numerous injuries over the past four years that have kept him off the field more often than not.

Per Dan Hayes of The Athletic:

After appearing in a career-high 140 games in 2017, Buxton has missed nearly two-thirds of the contests played by the Twins over the past four-plus seasons. Friday was only the 222nd time he’s suited up in 665 games since the start of the 2018 season.

Whether it’s a broken finger, concussion-like symptoms, migraine headaches, a broken toe, a bruised forearm, a torn labrum or even a broken tooth (that one didn’t cost him any games), Buxton has had difficulty staying healthy.

Thankfully, this injury doesn't appear likely to keep Buxton out for long. If he misses a week or so, then he'll likely be out for the remainder of the team's road trip against the Red Sox (three games) and Kansas City Royals (three more). Minnesota will return home Friday for a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox.

As for a contingency plan, options include playing Nick Gordon at center or moving Max Kepler to center and inserting Kyle Garlick in right. Gordon had a single and two runs in place of Buxton on Friday.

The Minnesota Twins are reportedly trading relief pitcher Taylor Rogers to the San Diego Padres for Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Dennis Lin of The Athletic added outfielder Brent Rooker will also be going to the Padres in the deal.

Rosenthal first reported Wednesday night that the deal was in the works.

That follows a report from USA Today's Bob Nightengale on Monday that the Padres were shopping Paddack:

The San Diego #Padres are keeping Sean Manaea, and have no plans to flip him, while continuing to engage with teams on starter Chris Paddack.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 4, 2022

The Padres were reportedly targeting Rogers in the talks:

Among the many things they are working on, the Padres are talking with the Twins about LH reliever Taylor Rogers, sources tell me and @sdutSanders. It is unclear everything a deal with the Twins might involve. @Ken_Rosenthal reported the Twins are trying to acquire Chris Paddack.

— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) April 7, 2022

Source confirms to me and @DanHayesMLB: Padres’ target is Taylor Rogers. Talks fluid, lots of moving parts. https://t.co/3HSSjEtC1w

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 7, 2022

Paddack, 26, appeared in 23 games (22 starts) for the Padres last season, finishing 7-7 with a 5.07 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 108.1 innings.

Since a fantastic rookie season in 2019 (9-7, 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 153 strikeouts), however, Paddack has steadily seen his quality decline over the past two seasons.

And with a loaded rotation that includes Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Sean Manaea, Blake Snell and Mike Clevinger, there wasn't a natural spot in the rotation for Paddack.

Minnesota, meanwhile, might be banking on Paddack rediscovering the form that made him an important part of San Diego's rotation in 2019. There's clearly potential:

Chris Paddack has a good changeup, & by Pitching+, pushed his curveball to an average pitch last year. By doing so, he cost his fastball ride and that pitch slipped below average, but that’s where the upside is: if he can get the ride back on his fastball, it could still click.

— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) April 6, 2022

The Twins currently have Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Chris Archer filling out their rotation. It's a completely different group than the rotation that started the 2021 season and one loaded with questions.

Paddack would fit right in—the Twins have plenty of potential in their staff, but recent results have been lacking.

The Minnesota Twins reportedly added some depth to their starting rotation.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the team reached an agreement with right-hander Chris Archer on a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The deal can reach as high as $9.5 million with performance bonuses "based on games started or outings with nine or more outs."

Passan added that Archer's contract has a base salary of $2.75 million and a $10 million mutual option with a $750,000 buyout.

The 33-year-old veteran had his 2021 season shortened by arm and hip injuries. He pitched in only six games for the Tampa Bay Rays, going 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA.

Archer has spent nine seasons in the majors since being called up by the Rays in 2012. He was originally drafted in the fifth round by Cleveland in 2006 before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2008 and then to Tampa Bay in 2011.

Archer earned selections to the All-Star Game in 2015 and 2017 and won 10 or more games three times during his first run in Tampa Bay before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018.

It was a forgettable three-year run in Pittsburgh for Archer, as he won a combined six games and posted a career-high 5.19 ERA in 2019. He sat out the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. The Pirates declined his club option ahead of last season, and he re-signed with the Rays in free agency.

Entering the 2022 season, Archer has amassed a career record of 61-81 with a 3.87 ERA. He is the latest addition to a new-look Twins rotation that includes offseason acquisitions Sonny Gray and Dylan Bundy.

Minnesota Twins star Carlos Correa is looking to help set the tone for his new team.

"I want to build a championship culture in this organization," Correa said, per the Associated Press' Jake Seiner.

The two-time All-Star won a World Series with the Houston Astros and also reached the Fall Classic with them in 2019 and 2021. 

Referencing Correa's experience, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the shortstop "elevates the confidence because this person has simply done this before."

Correa's decision to sign with Minnesota was one of the biggest surprises of the MLB offseason so far. He signed a three-year, $105 million pact that allows him to opt out in 2023 or 2024.

The Athletic's Dan Hayes and Ken Rosenthal reported on the details of what led up to the deal.

The Twins had effectively taken Correa off their board in the belief he wasn't a realistic target anymore and focused instead on Trevor Story. Minnesota then looked at a potential trade for Elvis Andrus from the Oakland Athletics before Correa's agent, Scott Boras, reached out to the team.

"At that point we shifted," general manager Thad Levine said when Boras told the team Correa might settle for a shorter contract than expected. "That’s where we literally dropped everything and dedicated the rest of the day to [Correa]."

It's the kind of anecdote that will be told for years to come if Correa can help deliver the Twins their first World Series title since 1991.

Of course, the structure of his contract carries some risk for Minnesota.

If he has another big season, then he might want to test the free-agent waters again next winter. At that point, his value might be too rich for the Twins.

In addition, missing the playoffs could be a setback that causes the 27-year-old to reconsider his future in Minneapolis.

But offering those two player options was a risk the Twins needed to take if it meant the difference between landing Correa and missing out altogether. The upside is that it could be a transformative transaction for the franchise.

The Minnesota Twins reportedly made a major free-agent splash to upgrade their lineup by signing longtime Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.

Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reported Saturday the Astros and Correa agreed to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

Here's a look at the club's projected batting order after the blockbuster move, which Spotrac noted increased its 2022 payroll to $107.3 million (20th in MLB):

• Byron Buxton (CF)
• Luis Arraez (DH)
• Carlos Correa (SS)
• Miguel Sano (1B)
• Jorge Polanco (2B)
• Max Kepler (RF)
• Gary Sanchez (C)
• Alex Kirilloff (LF)
• Gio Urshela (3B)

It's a mutually beneficial deal as the Twins needed another high-end bat for the middle of their lineup and Correa gets extreme contract flexibility that could allow him to return to free agency quickly as the financial impact of the new collective bargaining agreement comes into focus.

The 27-year-old Puerto Rico native spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Astros. He earned two All-Star selections, was named the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year and helped the club capture a World Series title in 2017.

He's coming off a strong 2021 campaign where he posted a .279/.366/.485 slash line with 26 home runs in 148 appearances and ranked third in WAR (5.8) among shortstops, per FanGraphs.

Minnesota's lineup now features good balance and depth, but as always its overall success will hinge heavily on the health of Buxton.

The 28-year-old outfielder is one of MLB's most explosive players when healthy, and he was off to a brilliant start last year before getting derailed by midseason injuries that limited him to 61 games. He posted a career-high 1.005 OPS when available.

If Buxton and Correa both play around 140 games or more, the Twins should be in the hunt for the AL Central division title for the stretch run of the regular season.

With that goal in mind, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Minnesota continue to survey the free-agent and trade markets to see whether it could land a starting pitcher or two before the season kicks off. The rotation could still use some work.

The Twins begin the 2022 campaign April 7 when they welcome the Seattle Mariners to Target Field for Opening Day.

Free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa has agreed to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reported the deal includes opt-out opportunities after each of the first two years.

In the end, Scott Boras and Carlos Correa got the perfect contract:$35M a year for 3, but FA agent again at 28 or 29. while Twins get a star at a position where they had no apparent regular.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) March 19, 2022

One of the concepts that Carlos Correa's camp ran past the Astros was a short-term contract for $40m annually, with opt-outs throughout... For the Twins: They get a great player to start the year, and if they struggle, a very tradable piece for midseason.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 19, 2022

The news comes after Correa declined a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Houston Astros. He also turned down a five-year, $160 million deal from the franchise, per Berman.

The 27-year-old had spent his entire seven-year career in Houston and became a free agent for the first time this offseason. He was one of the top free-agent shortstops on the market, joining Trevor Story, Corey Seager, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. 

Correa had a great 2021 season, hitting .279/.366/.485 with a career-high 26 home runs along with 92 RBI, earning his second All-Star selection and first Gold Glove. He's hit .277/.356/.481 across seven seasons with the Astros.  

Correa also received interest from the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, among others, this winter.

With the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year off the market, Story is the most high-profile shortstop still available.

Houston could also play Aledmys Diaz at shortstop, and prospect Jeremy Pena might be ready for the majors come 2022, as The Athletic's Jake Kaplan noted.

The Astros, who went 95-67 last season and reached the World Series for the third time in the last five seasons, might also shift their focus to the pitching staff.

For the Twins, meanwhile, Correa will take on a key role within a lineup that also features Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco. They also acquired catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela from the Yankees.

Minnesota kicks off the regular season on April 7 when it hosts the Seattle Mariners.