Carlos Correa is finally past his foot injuries and at full strength for Twins spring training
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Correa has gone to great lengths to get his feet back to full strength.
After plantar fasciitis interrupted a second consecutive season with the Minnesota Twins, the three-time All-Star shortstop will be ready for spring training next month without restriction.
“I’ve been sprinting. I’ve been running around. I’ve been doing about everything,” Correa said Saturday at the team’s annual fan festival at Target Field. “I’ve been focused on not only just treatment but also strengthening, a lot of walking barefoot around the house now. All that’s helping work on my toes and all that. So I’m in a really good spot.”
Correa was enjoying his most productive season with the Twins, and by most accounts his best season since 2017 with the Houston Astros, until a three-game series on the artificial turf in Arizona triggered the pain around his right heel in late June. He played through it for a couple of weeks, but the All-Star break didn’t provide the relief he was counting on.
Correa wound up missing more than two months, and the Twins ultimately collapsed while one of their most important players was sidelined. He rejoined the freefalling team for the final few weeks, but his presence wasn’t nearly enough. The Twins finished a bitterly disappointing 82-80 after losing 27 of their last 39 games.
“It was tough, but you’ve got to just flush it down the drain and just focus on the next one. I feel like we have a great team,” said Correa, who was limited by plantar fasciitis in his left foot in 2023. “We have a lot of young guys with so much potential, and if we put in the work we’re going to be in a great spot.”
After a visit to a specialist in California during his extended absence last year, Correa began shockwave treatments on the affected area of his foot designed to increase blood flow and regenerate damaged tissue. That’ll be part of his regimen moving forward, along with extra arch support in his cleats to alleviate pressure on his heels. He was so desperate for a fix last year he started trimming his cleats and poking holes in his insoles.
“The one thing that everyone knows about Carlos: He’s going to prepare himself about as well as anyone can to do all the things that are needed both on and off the field to manage it,” team president Derek Falvey said. “I’m hopeful that we’ll get there.”
This season, the Twins will consider additional games at designated hitter to help keep Correa off his feet more. Their infield depth — with Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Jose Miranda, Edouard Julien and Willi Castro ought to help with that goal. The question to be answered during spring training is who will play where. First base is the most obvious position there for the taking, following the departure of Carlos Santana.
With the club currently for sale and essentially in a spending freeze, the major league roster has not had any notable additions yet. The healthy return of Correa would go a long way toward making that status-quo strategy work for the Twins in 2025.
Though Correa’s name was circulated through the major league rumor mill this winter, he said he didn’t concern himself with such noise because of his no-trade clause.
“Let me tell you something: I love Minnesota, and I love the fishing here,” Correa said.
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