Carlos Correa is Back for Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins lost 8-4 on Friday night vs the Cincinnati Reds. Byron Buxton went deep, in his return to the lineup, but most of the Twins’ offensive firepower came too little, too late. Bailey Ober pitched well for most of seven innings, but needed help getting to the finish line.

Unfortunately, Jorge Alcala failed to provide that support. When Ober got into trouble in the 7th, Alcala entered the game. His responsibility was to get one out. Instead, he gave up a grand slam to Elly De La Cruz that ended any hopes of a Twins comeback win.

The loss allowed the Detroit Tigers to pull within 2.5 games of the final American League wildcard spot, with 15 games remaining. But… there was some good news after the game. Better late than never, right?

Carlos Correa returning for Minnesota Twins

It seemed things were already trending in this direction , prior to Friday’s showdown interleague showdown, but now it’s official. One night after Buck returned to the Twins lineup, Carlos Correa is set to do the same.

The Twins and Reds will play game two of their three game series on Saturday evening , at 6:10 PM, and our $33 million shortstop will be active and in the lineup. How big of a deal is this for the Minnesota lineup? Huge… if he’s healthy enough to be effective.

Prior to exiting the Minnesota Twins lineup with plantar fasciitis, back in July, Correa was slashing .308/.377/.520, racking up 13 HR and 47 RBI in 75 games played. His .896 OPS currently stands as his best since 2019 (.926).

Only Byron Buxton has accumulated as much bWAR as Correa. But here’s the thing. Nobody on the Twins roster has the playoff acumen as their captain. Yes, the 30-year-old Puerto Rican was signed to be the everyday shortstop of this organization, for the foreseeable future.

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But really, Correa was signed to bring Minnesota to the next level, in part because he is one of the greatest postseason hitters in Major League Baseball history. That is not hyperbole. It is truth.

Only Bernie Williams (80) and Manny Ramirez (78) have more playoff RBI than Carlos Correa’s 63 . Only David Ortiz has a higher playoff WPA (win probability added) than Correa’s 2.94. Pete Rose ‘s and Albert Pujols ‘ finished their HOF postseason careers with 2.6 WPA.

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