Puerto Rican shortstop for the Minnesota Twins, Carlos Correa, hit his first home run of the preseason; in what was his team's 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, the spring home of the Twin Cities.
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Byron Buxton began the game by double-hitting off Josh Fleming's pitches, when the Puerto Rican player hit an 82mph changeup in the bottom of the strike zone, which he flew to deep right field; with an exit speed and distance of 106.3mph and 383 feet respectively, to bring Buxton to the rubber and make the game 2-0 from the first inning.
Later, he got off with an uncatchable and scored on a run with a hit by his compatriot Christian Vázquez in the fifth inning. So, Carlos Correa finished the day, going 3-for-2 with a pair of drives and a run scored, to increase his average in the Grapefruit League to .294 (17-for-5) with two run runs, the same number of RBIs, .333 OBP and .804 OPS in seven games and 18 plate appearances.
However, it should be remembered that Correa returned to Minnesota after failing to close contracts first with the Giants and then with the Mets; both accusing concerns with his long-term physique.
Seeks to justify the investment
In the same way, the native of Ponce will seek to continue raising his numbers in order to justify the confidence that those led by Rocco Baldelli gave him by bringing him back with a six-year and $200 million contract, which represents much less than what he and Scott Boras aspired in the offseason.
In 136 games last year, Carlos Correa posted an average of .291; product of 152 hits in 522 at bats, with 24 doubles, a triple and 22 homers. He posted 70 runs scored, 64 RBIs, a .366 OBP and an .833 OPS in 590 legal appearances.
