Baldelli: Correa spent 2023 ‘biting his lip’’ in pain

Manager says that shortstop's plantar fasciitis slowed him significantly last season.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is expecting big things from Carlos Correa this season.

In an interview with Kris Atteberry on the Inside Twins podcast on Wednesday, Baldelli said that Correa’s plantar fasciitis was a bigger issue than was perhaps perceived from the outside, and while it wasn’t the “worst long-term injury” it was “very difficult to play through" and "very painful." 

“But he really found ways to get through it, literally biting his lip and just kind of limping his way through,” Baldelli said, “but leading us to the playoffs and doing his job.”

Baldelli said the Correa we saw in the postseason — the one who hit .409 across the Twins’ six playoff games with nine hits and three doubles and four RBIs — is the one we would have seen had he been healthy for a whole season.

“When he’s really swinging the bat the way that he can and the way that he has most of his career, every at-bat is just so competitive,” Baldelli said. “Every at-bat is a real, real tough situation for the opposing pitcher because he lays off so many tough pitches. He has deep at-bats, he gets good pitches to hit, he finds the barrel a lot.”

Correa had a .230 batting average last season, recording 118 hits, 18 home runs and 65 RBIs. Should he be mostly healthy this season, expect Correa to be the Correa that’s one of the best shortstops in baseball.

“When (Correa is) feeling good, when he’s really locked in, that’s what he’s like all year long,” Baldelli said. “He has a chance to play an entire season at that level, play one of the best shortstops in baseball, hit somewhere in the top half of your lineup, be very productive, be on base all the time.” 

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Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) fields a ground ball in the third inning against the Houston Astros during Game 4 of the ALDS at Target Field in Minneapolis on Oct. 11, 2023 :: Jesse Johnson / USA TODAY Sports