Spring Training has officially arrived, and with it comes the promise of a new season that will hopefully conclude better than the last one for the Minnesota Twins.
It’s difficult to beat breaking the Twins’ 19-year playoff losing run, but the monkey is now off their back. The clouds have cleared, the sun is beginning to shine, and despite a dearth of offseason activity, things are looking up.
Specifically, Carlos Correa appears to be doing as well as he has since joining the Twins in 2022. What began as an unexpected one-year contract has evolved into a partnership that might see Correa spend the rest of his career in Minnesota.
He’s starting his third season with the Twins, and it’s shaping up to be his greatest. Correa has battled injuries over the last two seasons, but he persevered to not only help the Twins win a playoff series, but also demonstrated in Game 2 of the ALDS why Minnesota paid him $200 million.
That leadership has only developed since then, and it’s helping to set the tone for the upcoming season.
Carlos Correa sends the ideal message to the Twins as Spring Training begins.
Correa arrived in Fort Myers this week to start Spring Training, and he made sure to send a message to both his teammates and fans that established the tone everyone wants to hear.
“I’m feeling good,” Correa explained. “I am extremely thrilled about what is to come this year. It’s a young team, but we gained enough experience last year to believe we can compete against any team. “I’m excited to get started.”
There’s a lot to like about that, not the least of which is that Correa still appears and sounds fully healthy. Part of the fun of Spring training is watching footage of players getting back to work, and Do-Hyoung Park posted a shot of Correa in the batting cage that implies he’s fully recovered.
A big HECK YEAH for viewing that.
Correa suffered from plantar fasciitis last year, forcing writers to learn how to spell it from memory and limiting his offensive production. He struggled in the early months of the season, as did the entire Twins offence, but was able to turn things around later in the season.
Now it appears that the Twins will receive the most healthy version of Correa they’ve seen yet.
Furthermore, Correa continues to establish himself as the clubhouse’s leader. That was evident in how he led the team through the AL Wild Card and ALDS, both of which he had previously visited and won in, but Minnesota had not. While the season stopped short of a World Series appearance, Correa demonstrated the type of leadership the team did not realize it required until he supplied it.
Spring Training has only just begun, and a full season of twists and turns awaits, but the vibes are already starting to feel good, with Correa leading the charge.
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