The Houston Astros could say they had a solid trade deadline, and one of their biggest moves was acquiring Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins. Correa will be back in an Astros uniform, and there's no doubt that fans are excited to see him return. Another person excited to see Correa is Jeremy Pena, as the two have become friends over the years.
Correa used to host game nights at his house in Houston, and Pena was a new attendee this past winter. During the offseason, they trained together, and that's when their bond grew closer.
“We had a great time,” Correa said via The Athletic. “We’re great friends. We’ve built a great relationship.”
Pena has been dealing with an injury, but is expected to be activated off IL and start at shortstop on Aug. 1. For Correa, he is supposed to be at third base now with the Astros, a position he feels very comfortable in.
“We were waiting for a shortstop to come in [with Twins] and now that I get to play third base, it will be great for me at this stage of my career,” Correa told MLB.com.
It's a reunion that many were waiting for, as Correa left the Astros after the 2021 season to sign with the Twins. The Astros offered Correa a five-year, $160 million contract as a free agent, but he signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins before opting out after one season.
Correa is not the same player offensively that he was, but he's one of the better defenders in the league. He was once a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove winner at shortstop, and in his first stint with the Astros, he was a .277 hitter with an .837 OPS over seven years. He hit a career-high 26 homers with 92 RBI in 2021.
If the Astros can get strong play from Correa for the rest of the season, they'll be a team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
