Royce Lewis was right there. He seemed like he had turned on the talent this year after two years away and a slower start than he hoped before that, and then it all came crashing down, literally, when he crashed into the center field fence in his first day back from St. Paul. It took a while, but eventually he was assessed to need ACL surgery, again, and would miss a year of action, again.
Lewis was trying to become more versatile in his time in St. Paul, but ultimately, it looked like the Twins were going to be in good shape for a long time at short stop. Carlos Correa is there this year, but is not expected to stick around for the long term, but it was ok, Royce Lewis was coming.
Maybe Lewis will recover, but I've seen this play out before. One knee injury is one thing, but having to have an ACL pieced back together twice is another. One of Lewis's elite skills was his speed, and now it is fair to wonder if he will still have that after his second surgery. That will affect his range at short, and hamper his baserunning for sure.
The Twins obtained high level prospect Austin Martin at last years deadline, and his pedigree and performance within the Blue Jays organization led some to believe that he would arrive in the Majors soon. The Twins, with Lewis already in the fold also signed Correa this offseason, leading me to believe that the Twins viewed Martin as a trade chip. His slow start, at the very least, tells us that he certainly isn't ready to be the team's short stop next season.
A nice thing about the Twins' situation is that they have removed almost all future financial obligations. They also have a stable of young talent that indicates that the team will be flush with good players for a few years. It seems to me that there is an obvious solution to their predicament all the way around. Try to lock up Carlos Correa long term.
The team is in a better place this offseason when it comes to the pitching rotation, and has historically been reluctant to overextend their payroll to pitchers anyways. Aside from shortstop, the biggest question mark the teams have on the roster is at catcher, and there aren't many commanding names that would take up payroll there, either. From a position of financial capability, extending Correa seems feasible.
For the long term future, both Lewis and Martin were being groomed for greater positional flexibility. Either could bounce around the field if it becomes more important to get their bat in the lineup, similar to the position that Luis Arraez finds himself in presently. Alternatively, this could return Martin, at least, to the "trade chip" position he had previously found himself in, as the Twins might want to supplement their rotation now or in the future. The Twins are spoiled for options if Correa is in the fold.
I would suggest an offer of 8 years for $280m, securing the next two years at the 37.5 rate that Correa is currently making, and $34.17mm the six following years. It would be an enormous commitment, and a show of confidence from the organization that they are going to keep pushing to succeed, and a sign that top free agents are willing to come to Minnesota and stay here.
With the ages of their roster and the dearth of financial commitments, the Twins are in a good spot to throw a lot of money at a player they like. They have demonstrated reluctance at spending big on pitching, and the clubhouse has grown to really like Correa. If Scott Boras allows it, then let it be done.
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