Are the Minnesota Twins Playing Dead for Scott Boras Again?

By Eric Strack |

Jan 27, 2024

I will never forget the night/morning that the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Correa the first time around, long after the start of Spring Training, 2022. I haven’t slept through a night since my first kid was born over 12 years ago and in this job, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Because sometime between the hours of 12:30 and 1:00 a.m CST on the morning of March 19 that spring, the Minnesota Twins and Carlos Correa agreed to a 3-year contract (really just a one-year) that sent shockwaves through the baseball community. I happened to wake up around 1:30 a.m, thought I was dreaming, and had an article up by 2:15 a.m.

Not only was I not dreaming, but after a few contracts fell through one offseason later, Correa now resides in the Twin Cities long-term. But that shocking signing nearly two years ago was a franchise-altering moment that changed the trajectory of the Twins organization forever.

This is October.
This is Carlos Correa. #WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/omkPgpshIv
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 9, 2023

And it was all thanks to MLB super agent, Scott Boras, who found himself frustrated with the long-term offers being made to his client, Carlos Correa at that time. In response, Boras turned to the Twins and offered them what we thought was a once in a lifetime opportunity to snag a superstar in Minnesota, even if it would’ve been for just one summer.

Scott Boras holding up the MLB offseason again?

But the MLB offseason market is once again at a stand-still in 2024, just like it was entering the spring back in 2022. And guess what, it’s Scott Boras who is playing chicken with MLB front offices yet again. All five of the top free agents remaining on the market, and six of the top eight, are all Scott Boras clients.

OF – Cody Bellinger (28-y/o) | Boras
SP – Blake Snell (31 y/o) | Boras
3B – Matt Chapman (30 y/o) | Boras
SP – Jordan Montgomery (31 y/o) | Boras
DH – J.D. Martinez (36 y/o) | Boras
SP – Julio Urias (27 y/o) | Boras

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have been so quiet this offseason that, for awhile, many were wondering if there were any live souls walking around Target Field headquarters for a month or more. At the beginning of the offseason, the the Twins announced that they would be cutting back payroll before the start of Spring Training, citing the many unknowns surrounding their TV contract and $60 million in revenue that was up in the air.

A few months later, that TV/streaming situation is still yet to be figured out. Nonetheless, whether it be as part of the Amazon deal just signed by Bally Sports or they find another route, it appears the Twins are heading toward a solution that won’t cover all $60 million of that lost revenue, but certainly a large chunk of it. And President Dave St. Peter says they are very optimistic about future possibilities.

Recently, Derek Falvey and Rocco Baldelli have been out, about and talking kind of big. Rocco Baldelli went on KFAN radio last week and told Dan Barreiro that he would bet on something big happening before the team gathers less than a month from now for Spring Training. And reporters around town seem like they know something we don’t.

Twinsfest was packed and the club expects to easily pass 2 million in attendance this season. You know why? The team was good. This is why they should keep adding.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) January 27, 2024

Are Minnesota Twins playing dead for Scott Boras again?

Suddenly, the Twins have gone from dead in the casket, ‘we’re not spending anything, don’t even call us’… to pumping up fans and media members with optimism that something big might be on the horizon. Which begs to question, are the Twins in cahoots with Scott Boras again?

Has Falvey been waiting to deal Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco until they know what kind of surprise Boras might have for them under the offseason tree this time around? If Boras were to throw the Twins Bellinger, Snell or Montgomery, three superstars at their positions, just like they did Correa in 2022, Minnesota would be able to fill in a position of need and then adjust their offseason plan from there.

How would they afford one of those players? The front office has already cut about $25 million in player salary this offseason and now they’re starting to feel better about the TV situation. And sure, they don’t want to trade Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco for prospect packages, right now.

But if an expensive free agent addition were to change their approach, Falvey could find another $20 million by dumping their salaries for prospects, instead of demanding a tit-for-tat MLB talent only deal. Of course, there’s nothing being officially reported on something like this, but there wasn’t back in 2022 either.

Then, I woke up to go pee and the entire franchise future had been changed. So, I’m not saying to hold your breath until Cody Bellinger or Blake Snell are in Minnesota Twins uniforms. But this is absolutely something worth monitoring, at this point.