Twins introduce Vázquez, move on from Correa

MINNEAPOLIS – The Twins formally welcomed a veteran Puerto Rican clubhouse chief to their ranks at Target Field on Friday, however as they ushered catcher Christian Vázquez into the Minnesota household on a three-year, $30 million deal, dialog nonetheless lingered on the one who bought away — and the place the Twins go from right here, after Carlos Correa left for San Francisco on a 13-year, $350 million deal, in response to a supply.

“As free agency goes, we always have to know that call [regarding Correa] can come,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey mentioned. “We’ve all had it from players who have been here or haven’t. There’s been that moment of, once we were told, ‘OK, it’s going in a different direction,’ like, you’ve prepared yourself for it, but it is a little bit of a gut punch in the moment when it happens. Then you take kind of a step back.”

With Correa now not within the combine, the Twins’ present predicament is that there aren’t many influence free brokers remaining available on the market now that they know for positive that they should pivot away from the celebrity shortstop — and from that market, the Twins have agreed to contracts with Vázquez and Joey Gallo (in response to a supply).

Falvey pushed again on the notion that the tempo of the Correa negotiations stored the Twins out of the working for lots of the influence free brokers who signed elsewhere, noting that geography or different elements generally made for an uphill battle for them. He did acknowledge, although, that the size of a number of the top-tier offers on this market did take him aback.

“Definitely surprised,” Falvey mentioned. “It was not something we thought that much about in terms of that extended length on a few players. We’ve had to reevaluate and adjust as we’ve gone to try and understand what it means for us. My job is to keep an eye on this year, and also on what it means for the franchise over the long term.”

The Twins would have cherished to deliver Correa again and complement the roster even farther from there as they sought a bounceback from a disappointing 78-84 end in 2022. Now they must piece collectively that manufacturing and management.

“I don’t have a specific answer, like [the money that went to Correa] is allocated for this specific purpose,” Falvey mentioned when requested if he expects to spend all of that cash this offseason. “We may actually have to be more creative in thinking about how we divide that up.”

They really feel that the puzzle begins with Vázquez, who gained’t deliver a lot to the offensive aspect however takes quite a lot of pleasure in his work with the pitching employees and his game-calling abilities. Vázquez will tackle “primary duties” behind the plate, Falvey mentioned, however there gained’t be a big skew between the veteran and 25-year-old Ryan Jeffers, who nonetheless hasn’t discovered offensive consistency.

“I can tell you we continued to hear over and over again, ‘[Vázquez] is the guy that’s going to make your pitching staff better,’” Falvey mentioned. “Obviously, on the [offensive] side, he contributes on that side, too. I don’t want to minimize that. But what he can do as a leader, as a catcher and how much pride he takes in that really allowed him to stand out from the group. We’re thrilled to have him.”

Vázquez, for his half, emphasised that he selected the Twins as a result of he felt there was a chance to win, with the expectation that the membership will proceed so as to add earlier than Opening Day. He famous that he has already communicated with supervisor Rocco Baldelli for info on all of his new pitchers, and that he considers the Twins’ pitching employees to be a energy.

Having discovered the catching craft from the brothers Molina in Puerto Rico and already shut with Jorge López and Jorge Polanco, Vázquez is keen for this new problem in his profession — and the Twins might want to proceed discovering him assist.

“They’re very close to winning a championship,” Vázquez mentioned on Friday. “That’s very important to us, and I can help them a lot behind the plate to bring a championship to this city. I think that’s the main goal for everybody, is to win championships, and we’re here. We’re here to start this ride together. It’s going to be fun.”