The Minnesota Twins knew health was the gamble when they signed Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200 million deal. But through the first 35 games of 2025, the issue isn’t his plantar fasciitis. It’s something much harder to pin down—and potentially even more concerning.
Correa’s feet, the source of back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, appear fine. He’s played 34 of 35 games, moving well on defense and running the bases with no restrictions. But his bat? It’s in freefall.
“Correa is off to the worst start of his career offensively,” wrote The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman. “And now the health of his left wrist is in question.”
The numbers are brutal. A .216 average, one homer, and a .560 OPS. No player on the Twins has produced less at the plate—and this is a team already struggling to hit. By Wins Above Replacement? He’s at -0.1, essentially a replacement-level player earning $37 million this season.
What’s Wrong With the Swing?
Correa claims it’s not the wrist, telling reporters, “I’m dealing with my swing sucks right now.” But Gleeman isn’t buying it entirely—and neither should anyone watching him at the plate.
Correa’s hard-hit rate, launch angle, exit velocity, and barrel percentage have all nosedived. He’s pounding fastballs into the dirt, grounding into more double plays than he has extra-base hits. And even the expected stats—metrics that adjust for bad luck—show a version of Correa that’s just… bad.
This isn’t just a slump. It’s a structural failure in his swing. And it’s eerily similar to the production drop that came with plantar fasciitis in 2023—only this time, the culprit seems to be a nagging wrist injury he hasn’t fully addressed.
Decline or Denial?
This is Correa’s lowest OPS through 34 games—by a lot. In 2023, it was .646. In 2021, .693. This year? .560.
Gleeman hints at an uncomfortable possibility: what if this isn’t just injury-related? What if the 30-year-old shortstop is declining earlier than expected? After all, his average bat speed is down. His aggressiveness is up. And pitchers are attacking him more than ever, no longer fearing the damage he used to inflict.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has kept Correa in the heart of the lineup, giving him 87 plate appearances with runners on base. He’s driven in just nine of them.
“It’s getting harder and harder to write this off as merely a random bad month,” Gleeman wrote.
Correa’s leadership has also come into question. Though he’s long been seen as a clubhouse presence, prolonged slumps—especially from high-paid stars—can wear thin in struggling locker rooms.
Fans and media alike have started to wonder whether his confidence-first persona still resonates when the production doesn’t follow. If the Twins are going to turn their season around, they’ll need more than just defense and presence—they’ll need the bat that earned Correa his contract.
$96 Million Still to Go
Correa has three years and $96 million left on his deal after this season. The Twins don’t just need him to rebound—they need him to lead. But right now, it’s unclear whether his swing—or his body—can deliver.
If it’s the wrist, he should rest. If it’s the decline, Minnesota is staring at a long, expensive future.
One way or another, the Carlos Correa question is no longer just a footnote. It’s the headline.
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