Twins sign Correa

Star shortstop Carlos Correa agreed early Saturday to a $105.3 million, three-year contract with the Minnesota Twins, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. 

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

The move ends Correa's seven-season tenure with the Houston Astros. He will earn $35.1 million annually under the deal and can opt out after the 2022 and 2023 seasons to become a free agent again.

Correa picking the Twins was a surprise, given they have lost 18 consecutive postseason games and finished last in the AL Central a year ago at 73-89.

His average salary becomes baseball's fourth-highest behind New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer ($43.3 million), Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million) and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout ($35.5 million).

A two-time All-Star who was the first pick in the 2012 amateur draft, Correa led the Astros' turnaround. Houston lost more than 100 games each year from 2011-13, then won its first World Series title by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in 2017.

The Astros went on to AL pennants and World Series losses in 2019 and last year, gaining infamy for their cheating scandal that was revealed after the 2019 season.

Correa had a career-best 26 home runs last year to go along with a .279 batting average and 92 RBIs. He finished fifth in AL MVP voting and won his first Gold Glove. He has a .277 career average with 133 homers and 489 RBIs in seven major league seasons.

Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, also has been a stellar postseason performer with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 79 games.

Moving to the Twins will be a change for Correa and his family. His wife, the former Daniella Rodriguez, was Miss Texas USA in 2016.

Minnesota has not been to the World Series since winning the 1991 title and has lost its last eight postseason series since beating Oakland in a 2002 AL Division Series.

Correa has enjoyed great success in Minnesota as a visiting player, though. He has a .413 batting average (26 for 63) at Target Field with five homers and 20 RBIs in 15 games. His 1.205 OPS is his highest at any ballpark where he’s played four or more games.

Since the end of the lockout, the Twins acquired right-hander Sonny Gray from Cincinnati and catcher Gary Sánchez and third baseman Gio Urshela from the New York Yankees.

Before the work stoppage, Minnesota signed pitcher Dylan Bundy to a $5 million, one-year deal.

Combined with Nick Castellanos’ $100 million, five-year agreement with Philadelphia late Friday night, Correa’s deal was the 14th since the World Series of nine figures.

Six of those were negotiated by agent Scott Boras, at a total of $1.0173 billion. In addition to agreements for Correa and Castellanos, he negotiated contracts for Corey Seager ($325 million) and Marcus Semien ($175 million) with Texas, Kris Bryant with Colorado ($182 million) and Scherzer with the New York Mets ($130 million).

Castellanos to Phils

Free-agent slugger Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a $100 million, five-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity early Saturday because the deal was subject to a successful physical.

It was the second big free-agent splash this week for the Phillies, who are beefing up their lineup to compete with the busy Braves and Mets in the NL East. Kyle Schwarber agreed Wednesday to a four-year contract worth about $80 million, a deal that also was pending a successful physical.

Castellanos batted .309 with 34 homers, 100 RBIs and a .939 OPS last year for the Cincinnati Reds, making his first All-Star team and winning a Silver Slugger Award. He is a .278 career hitter with 168 home runs, 594 RBIs and an .814 OPS in nine major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Reds.

A corner outfielder with a suspect glove, Castellanos joins reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper in the middle of a Phillies lineup that also features All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.

With the Phillies in need of a left fielder, Harper recently pressed the team to bring in a big bat, saying it would be a "downer" if the club did not sign Castellanos, Schwarber or Kris Bryant.

"Nicky, I really enjoy him as a player, a good left fielder. He'd be a great middle-of-the-order bat for us," Harper said.

Turns out, the only one of those three the Phillies didn't lure was Bryant, who was introduced at Rockies camp Friday after signing a $182 million, seven-year contract with Colorado.

The Phillies finished 82-80 last season, their first winning record since 2011, but extended their postseason drought to an NL-worst 10 years.

"There's definitely a couple of guys out there that a lot of guys in this clubhouse would like to see come in and kind of give us a sense of, we're here to win it and we have an opportunity to do that," Harper said Monday.

"We definitely need somebody who gives us the best chance to win. When you get a caliber player like that, it raises the energy in the clubhouse that much more, knowing your team is behind you, your organization is behind you and it gives you the best chance to win each night out there."

Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski was president and general manager of the Tigers when they drafted Castellanos in 2010 and he debuted with Detroit in 2013.

Back in November, Castellanos opted out of the last two years of his contract with Cincinnati, which would have paid him $34 million. He was given an $18.4 million qualifying offer by the Reds and turned it down, so Cincinnati will receive a high draft pick this year as compensation for Castellanos leaving as a free agent.

Since the Major League Baseball lockout ended, the Phillies have signed free-agent relievers Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia, each to a one-year deal for $6 million. They also brought back outfielder Odúbel Herrera on a one-year contract.

Before the lockout, the Phillies signed Corey Knebel to be their closer.

In another move Friday involving the Phillies, the team lost right-hander Yoan López when he was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins.