What Did Carlos Correa Know and When Did He Know It?

 Giving up on your longtime squad, destined for another division title, in favor of a team that had most recently come in last as a means of helping them compete? It had to have been more simple than that. Carlos Correa must have known what was on the way for the Twins this year.

There were small indicators, like the team keeping Byron Buxton, as well as letting extraneous figures like Josh Donaldson and Mitch Garver leave while keeping the main core of Buxton, Polanco, Kepler, Arraez and Sano intact. But at the same time, I don't think anybody saw that rotation of Ryan-Gray-Bundy-Archer-Ober and thought anything of it at all. So I wonder what Rocco Baldelli told Correa to get him to come over. I wonder if Baldelli knew that this was coming, or if the GM knew that getting rid of some of the load last season would set up a lower-stakes run like this. 

Regardless of the cause, the effect is a completely different kind of first place team from the 2019 bomba-friendly squad. There are definitely power hitters, like Byron Buxton and his 19 homers, but the emphasis this year is more on contact hitters like Arraez and Polanco. There's a lot of people on this team, including now Correa and Gio Urshela, who can be classified at perfect 'hit it where they ain't' slap hitters, who just get on base and make things difficult for defenses. It's odd having a lot of those types of players while Gary Sanchez does his usual one-dimensional hitting thing, but...I doubt he'll last as long as the rest of this unit.

Correa himself has been having a decent year as well, hitting .293 and notching 21 RBIs in 45 games. I honestly think he fits right in with this team, and having him in an infield with Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco and Gio Urshela is a very wise idea. I dunno if it'll be quite as iconic as Bregman, Altuve and Gurriel, but I think these three fit his contact sensibilities a little better. 

Getting Joe Ryan back has helped the rotation a ton, though honestly Devin Smeltzer being there did fill the void a bit. It surprises me how good Ryan, Smeltzer and Sonny Gray have been, and how efficient, if boilerplate, Chris Archer has been. There's no insane standout ace like Jose Berrios, but this rotation is still getting it done. 

The Twins still have a strong lead on the AL Central, but their inconsistent last few weeks have made it a little easier for the Guardians and, I assume, White Sox to catch up. They've been lucky enough to be on the same page overall, but they need to have some big nights to make up for the messy stretch. And having Correa on his a-game will certainly help.

Coming Tomorrow- Shortstop for a 1st place contender as his old team drops to 4th.