The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins have agreed to a trade sending shortstop Carlos Correa back to the Astros, the teams announced. There were rumblings the Astros were exploring a Correa reunion earlier this week, after third baseman Isaac Paredes went down with a significant hamstring injury. LHP Matt Mikulski is headed back to Minnesota and the Twins included $33 million in the deal to cover some of Correa’s salary, according to ESPN.
Correa will play third base with the Astros, reports The Athletic. He has played shortstop his entire big-league career, though he played third base in deference to Francisco Lindor during the World Baseball Classic, and agreed to play third to join the New York Mets two years ago. Correa remained at short with the Twins after his deal with the Mets fell through.
The Astros have All-Star Jeremy Peña entrenched at short. Correa, Paredes, and Peña are all under contract or team control through at least 2027. How the infield pieces fit once Paredes returns is a problem for another time. The Astros will figure that out when Paredes is ready to return and not a moment sooner.
Now 30, Correa is having the worst season of his career, slashing .267/.319/.386 with seven home runs in 93 games. Between that and declining defense, he is a 0.1 WAR player this year. Correa is owed $92 million from 2026-28 with four club options covering 2029-32. It is unclear whether the Twins ate any money to facilitate the trade.
Correa of course started his career with the Astros. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, won Rookie of the Year in 2015, and was a key member of Houston’s World Series-winning team in 2017. All told, Correa played parts of seven seasons with the Astros and went to two All-Star Games. Houston allowed him to leave as a free agent after the 2021 season.
As for the Twins, the Correa trade is the most significant in a deadline that has seen them move lefty Danny Coulombe (Texas Rangers), outfielder Harrison Bader and closer Jhoan Duran (Philadelphia Phillies), righty Brock Stewart (Los Angeles Dodgers) and super utility man Willi Castro (Cubs).
The Correa trade frees up significant cash — Minnesota was hit especially hard by the recent regional sports network collapse — and also clears shortstop for erstwhile top prospect Brooks Lee, who had splitting his time all around the infield. Correa had to waive his no-trade clause to go back to Houston.
“I let them know there was only one team I would allow that to happen,” Correa told MLB.com Thursday, saying he didn’t like the direction the team was headed in.
Houston sits atop the AL West at 62-47. The Twins are 5 ½ games behind the third wild card spot with six teams ahead of them, hence the decision to sell. They are 51-57.
