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The Minnesota Twins were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. The Twins entered the game needing to close out the regular season with a sweep of the Orioles in their three-game home series. The team also needed help from the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals in order to clinch an AL Wild Card berth. Unfortunately, Minnesota couldn’t keep their postseason hopes alive, falling to Baltimore 7-2 in the opening game of the series.
Veteran shortstop Carlos Correa had been vocal about the Twins’ late-season collapse, seemingly taking a shot at his teammates and manager Rocco Baldelli with comments criticizing the team’s preparation and lack of urgency.
Following Friday’s playoff elimination, Correa offered his take on why the Twins missed out on the postseason for the third time in the last four years. “Everybody runs out of gas at the end of the year. The season is damn long. The guys that stay resilient and the guys that stay strong mentally are the guys that succeed. We did not do any of those things. Being tired is an excuse that's not valid at this point,” the three-time All-Star said, via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park on X.
Correa put together a solid season for the Twins in limited time. He has 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 54 RBI and 55 run scored with a .905 OPS, an OPS+ of 152 and 3.8 bWAR for Minnesota. The problem is the 29-year-old former Gold Glove winner only played 86 games for the Twins this season.
Carlos Correa speaks out about Twins’ disappointing season
The 10-year veteran suffered through an injury-plagued year in Minnesota. He landed on the 10-day injured list in mid April, missing 16 games with a right oblique strain. Correa was able to return by the end of the month and played well until he was again knocked out of the Twins lineup, hitting the IL with plantar fasciitis. The injury cost him 53 games during a crucial two-month stretch of the season from mid July to mid September.
Correa was able to return to Minnesota’s lineup in time for a playoff push on September 14. He performed well for the team, slashing .325/.460/.500 in the 11-game stretch from his return through Friday's loss to the Orioles. But his presence was not enough to save the Twins' season.
Minnesota looked like a lock to clinch a Wild Card berth as recently as August. However, the team could only muster a 28-36 record since returning from the All-Star break. Meanwhile, their AL Central rivals the Detroit Tigers surprised the baseball world, catching fire in the second half of the season. The Tigers went 39-24 since the Midsummer Classic, the third best record in MLB in that stretch.
Despite selling at the deadline, dealing starter Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tigers held onto AL Cy Young contender Tarik Skubal. The team stunningly surpassed the Twins and clinched a playoff berth. They currently hold the second AL Wild Card spot.
