MN Twins Shock the World: Carlos Correa Back to Astros

The Minnesota Twins have been among the most aggressive teams at the Major League Baseball trade deadline. They flipped Chris Paddack early and then sent Jhoan Duran and Harrison Bader to the Phillies. Brock Stewart went back to the Dodgers for a nice homecoming, too.

But all of those deals pale in comparison to this shocker. Carlos Correa opened the door for a reunion with the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Such a blockbuster still felt farfetched as the calendar flipped to trade deadline day. That was until approximately 3 p.m…

Minnesota Twins trade Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros

With just two hours until the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the MN Twins sent their most expensive free agent acquisition in club history back to his former team. That ended his rollercoaster time in the Twin Cities.

Source: The Astros are have agreed to a deal to reacquire Carlos Correa in a trade with the Twins.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 31, 2025

Prior to the 2022 season the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Correa to a three-year deal. It was essentially a one-year pact. After he fulfilled his one-and-done duties, he signed massive contracts with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, before both were voided due to failed physicals.

So, his price came down slightly and Correa returned to Minnesota. Correa’s second contract with the Minnesota Twins was signed for $200 million and covered six seasons. There were also team options that tied years 2029 through 2032 to the deal.

Now, that contract is Houston’s problem… but not totally. According to reports, the Twins are eating a big portion of Correa’s deal, a total of $33 million. In return, it sounds like Minnesota is getting back just one prospect. This seems like not much to get back for the face of your franchise, but I guess only time will tell…

The #MNTwins received LHP Matt Mikulski in exchange for Carlos Correa and $30 million.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 31, 2025

The prospect capital was always going to be muted for Minnesota considering the financial commitment taken on by Houston. Matt Mikulski was the San Francisco Giants second round pick in 2021, and joined Houston on a minor league deal.

The 26-year-old has never pitched above High-A. Mikulski owns a 6.46 ERA across 225 2/3 innings at the minor league level. Because Houston needed to send something back, he was what the Twins chose.

Correa and Twins deserve blame for failures

The assumption for both Correa, and the fanbase, was that his signing meant the team would continue to supplement the roster around him. Unfortunately, that never happened. After advancing to the divisional round of the 2023 playoffs, the Pohlad family dialed back the payroll, instead of adding on.

Of course, Correa has been a big part of the Minnesota Twins’ 2025 problems. He’s spent much of his time here on the injured list dealing with plantar fasciitis, and he’s been somewhat mediocre while healthy.

Related: MN Twins Clubhouse Boils Over as Trade Deadline Looms

Carlos Correa has also drawn the ire of youngster Royce Lewis, and seemed to insert himself into a clubhouse quarrel following the Jhoan Duran trade on Wednesday.

This season Correa owns a .267/.319/.386 slash line and his 92 OPS+ is the lowest mark of his career. Clearly the relationship has broke down to the point where Minnesota is willing to deal him while his value is so low.

In interview with MLB. com, Correa says he’s happy to come home to the team where he started career. He said it was clear Minnesota wasn’t going in the direction he wanted and they agreed to find a trade.

“I let them know there was only one team I would allow that to happen.”

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 31, 2025

There have been multiple points during his tenure with the Twins that Correa had hoped for more. He came from a winning organization and went to one that had hoped to get there. It’s unfortunate there wasn’t more of a desire from ownership to make that happen, but this season was also a reflection of the shortstop’s own failures.

With the Astros, Correa will move to third base. He takes over for the injured Isaac Paredes, but assumes a lesser role with Jeremy Pena still there after replacing him at shortstop when he departed. Correa seemed open to that idea with the New York Mets when he originally agreed to a contract alongside Francisco Lindor. He’s remained above-average at shortstop for Minnesota, but bows out of the premium position to go home.

If there was a way for Derek Falvey to reset the core of the Twins roster and try again, this was it. It seemed like insane probability… but that’s deadline day.