Latest rumors after Twins miss on Carlos Correa, Carlos Rodon

Anything moving the needle for fans?
Latest rumors after Twins miss on Carlos Correa, Carlos Rodon
Latest rumors after Twins miss on Carlos Correa, Carlos Rodon /

Carlos Correa to the Giants. Carlos Rodon to the Yankees. Even old friend Trevor May is off to Oakland. Who is coming to Minnesota? So far, the only player of note to sign with the Twins is 32-year-old catcher Christian Vazquez. 

There are still a ton of quality players available, but the high-end starting pitchers are gone and the biggest name remaining is shortstop Dansby Swanson. With a lineup loaded with players who either can't avoid injury or haven't proved themselves at the big-league level, the Twins either have to start making moves or enter 2023 with very modest expectations. 

Just three of the top-25 free agents on Jim Bowden's list entering free agency are still available: Swanson (#9), Nathan Eovaldi (#13) and Andrew Benintendi (#17). 

Dan Hayes of The Athletic says the Twins landing Swanson "could be difficult" because other teams, including the Cubs and Braves, want him. Throw the Red Sox in the Swanson mix, too, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

Three free agents Hayes named in his Friday column (subscription required) are third baseman Justin Turner and outfielders A.J. Pollock and Joey Gallo. Turner is 38, Pollock is 35 and Gallo, even though he's 29, hit .160 and struck out in 39.7% of his plate appearances last season. None of them would come close to replacing the all-around game that Carlos Correa provided. 

The best remaining starters are Eovaldi, Corey Kluber, Michael Wacha, Johnny Cueto and Zack Greinke. What do they all have in common? They're all aging and there aren't any substantial reports connecting the Twins to any of them. 

  • Eovaldi, 32, had a 3.87 ERA in 109.1 innings with the Red Sox last season
  • Kluber, 36, had a 4.34 ERA in 164 innings with the Rays
  • Wacha, 31, had a 3.32 ERA in 121 innings with the Red Sox.
  • Cueto, 36, had a 3.35 ERA in 158.1 innings with the White Sox
  • Greinke, 39, had a 3.68 ERA in 137 innings with the Royals

Kluber and Cueto will both be 37 by the time next season begins. 

After losing out on Correa and Rodon, the Twins have their work out for them. Right now, all is rather quiet on the front. 


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.