Carlos Correa Calls Out Minnesota Twins Teammates for Not Caring Enough

Things are bad right now, in Minnesota Twins land. Tuesday night was no different. Just another lifeless, punchless effort, this time vs a horrid Miami Marlins team that gave up on its season months ago. But yesterday, the Twins cared even less.

Starting pitcher Bailey Ober got off to a rough start. He surrendered four runs in the 2nd inning, but recovered nicely, holding Miami scoreless until he handed it off to the bullpen for a few shutout innings of their own.

It didn’t matter, though. Four runs is a mountain far too high for this Twins offense to climb. Carlos Correa (2-for-5, 2B, 3K) had a decent night. So did Byron Buxton (2-for-3, 2B, R). But the youngsters remained mostly worthless. And when the dust settled on game 157, the scoreboard said 4-1 , Away Team. Just another terrible loss vs a terrible team, at the absolute worst time.

Carlos Correa calls out Minnesota Twins teammates

Last night’s L dropped Minnesota two full games behind the Detroit Tigers, in the AL Wildcard race. Their division rival is the hottest team in baseball, and their ace Tarik Skubal is a lock to win the Cy Young. Meanwhile, the Twins have completely run out of gas. Very littler pitching. Absolutely no hitting.

And their veteran superstar Carlos Correa can feel the season imploding on itself. So after Tuesday’s loss, one of the most decorated postseason performers in MLB history called out his teammates publicly, while speaking with reporters. It feels like a final desperate attempt to light some sort of 5-game fire.

Carlos Correa reiterated the call for urgency, and when asked if he felt urgency around him:

"Some guys, yeah. Some of us hit extra today and tried to figure something out. We didn't get the win, but we've got to do more of that and eventually find something right away."

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) September 25, 2024

“There’s got to be a sense of urgency in terms of showing up earlier and getting the work in, trying to find something that can help us… Some guys [have that urgency]. Some of us hit extra today [before the game] and tried to figure something out. We didn’t get the win, but we’ve got to do more of that and eventually find something right away.”

“We’re all trying our best, and everybody wants to be in the playoffs. It’s just not clicking right now. Like I said, it’s five games. We’ve got to give it everything we’ve got. We’ve got to figure it out.”

“Some guys take it as poison and some guys take it as fuel. The guys who take it as fuel are the ones that always come out on top and have a beautiful career and stay in the game for a long time. We have a lot of young guys and a lot of people try to help them, but at the end of the day, everybody has to figure it out on their own.”

Carlos Correa after Tuesday’s loss vs Miami (via MLB.com and The Athletic)

This seems a bit pointed, coming from a guy who has missed most of the 2nd half, due to a plantar fasciitis injury. A plantar injury that, originally, wasn’t supposed to cost him any time in the lineup. Instead, it cost him 53 games, and probably the playoffs. But I don’t think Carlos Correa cares about that, right now.

Correa trying to make his teammates mad?

Whether Correa’s teammates are mad at him, Rocco, themselves or their mammas… as long as they are mad. The Twins are now two games back of the Tigers, with five left to play. Their two best pitchers just took back-to-back losses, and they can’t hit a run in, to save their lives. This isn’t the time for pulling punches.

Since September 3, Minnesota has 6-14 record, which has dropped them clear out of the playoff bracket, something that seemed impossible at the start of the month. In that time, the lineup is carrying a .217 batting average and .608 OPS. The pitching staff’s 4.61 ERA, in that time, hasn’t been much better.

Related: Max Kepler’s Minnesota Twins Career is Over

Much of that has to do with injuries, but really, it’s a depth problem, after the organization cut $30 million from payroll. Because of that, this team just didn’t have enough big league talent, to ride out the riggers of a 162 game season.

Can Carlos Correa’s public rally challenge make any sort of difference in the win/loss column? Probably not. Nothing else has. But hey, it’s worth a shot.