The Major League Baseball trade deadline saw a few blockbuster deals completed. However, the Minnesota Twins stole the show. The Twins sent Carlos Correa back to the Houston Astros in one of the day's biggest MLB trades. Minnesota team president Derek Falvey spoke to Correa about the deal before it went down. However, the trade was not looking good at the beginning.
Correa's contract was the biggest obstacle in any deal sending him back to Houston. The former All-Star was willing to waive his no-trade clause in order to reunite with the Astros. However, Falvey made a commitment to Correa to do all he could to get a deal done. At the end of the day, Houston sent prospects and were willing to pay Correa's large contract.
According to the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes, though, the Astros did not want to do so at the beginning of the day.
“Once Correa got to Target Field, he sought out Falvey, who confirmed that the Astros had indeed called about a potential trade. The initial discussions, according to a source briefed on the conversations, were not serious,” Rosenthal said. “The Astros wanted other major leaguers attached to Correa and for the Twins to pay a sizable amount of his remaining $103 million.”
While there was no bad blood between Correa and Falvey, both sides knew that it was time to part ways. However, the Twins' president made it clear that the right deal needed to come along.
“Carlos was never sitting there saying anything about demanding a trade or wanting to do something else,” Falvey said. “If it was right for the Twins and it was right for him, he was open to the conversation.”
Despite how it was viewed by Correa's agent and the MLB world, the trade was a mutual agreement from all sides. Now, Correa joins a Houston roster with its sights set on the World Series. The Twins, on the other hand, head back to the drawing board.
Correa's deal was the first of many involving Minnesota at the MLB trade deadline. The Twins sent Jhoan Durán to the Philadelphia Phillies and Willi Castro to the Chicago Cubs. The team took a step back, while Correa prepares to contend for a spot in the American League playoffs again.