Twins land Correa on reported 3-year, $105.3M deal

The Minnesota Twins made a massive free-agent splash by signing All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa.

The deal is for three years and is worth $105.3 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deal will pay Correa $35.1 million annually and contains an opt-out after each of the first two seasons, reports Passan.

Minnesota freed up $50 million by sending Josh Donaldson to the New York Yankees in a five-player blockbuster last week.

The Twins' lineup now features plenty of firepower with Correa and the newly acquired Gary Sanchez, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, and Max Kepler. Buxton and Correa were the first two picks in the 2012 draft.

"That's pretty wild. Don't know how many times that's happened. That's pretty cool. Same draft. One-two and now we get to play together and go out and do what we do," Buxton said, according to Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Correa, 27, appeared in 148 games for the Houston Astros last season, hitting .279/.366/.485 with 26 home runs, 92 RBIs, and 104 runs scored. He finished fifth in voting for American League MVP and won a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove for the first time.

The two-time All-Star had spent his entire MLB career with the Astros, posting a slash line of .277/.356/.481 with 133 homers and 489 RBIs across seven seasons. He was named AL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and was an integral part of Houston's World Series-winning squad in 2017 and trips to the Fall Classic in 2019 and 2021.

Former Houston teammate Yuli Gurriel said he was surprised by Correa's decision to sign with the Twins, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Astros catcher Martin Maldonado apparently tried to convince the star shortstop to come back but wasn't successful.