All-Star break a welcome respite for Carlos Correa, Twins

Carlos Correa has big plans for the All-Star break, which commences Monday.

While Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton jet off to Hollywood to play in Tuesday's game, Correa will stay closer to home.

"I've got my son, and he's learning everything, something new every single day," Correa said of 7-month-old Kylo. "So I'll get to spend that time with him … which is important to me."

Through Sunday, the Twins had played the most games in the American League and tied the Cardinals and Nationals for most in the majors at 88. For comparison, the Rangers and Guardians, who are second to the Twins in the American League Central, had played the fewest, at 83 apiece.

Enduring that grueling start to the year means the Twins have an abundance of days off in July — nine to be exact. The Twins were off this past Thursday after a road series against the White Sox and were also off Monday after playing the Rangers. They'll face the Brewers and the White Sox from Tuesday through Sunday at home before everyone not named Arraez or Buxton has five days away from games for the All-Star break. There are then two days off between road series at Detroit, Milwaukee and San Diego to finish out the month.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said while he was happy with how his team handled the beginning of the season — with a 48-40 record and a four-game lead in the division — it was hard and not ideal.

"Now we have another kind of unique number of days off that we have in July, which, it's not normal. It's not typical for anything we have to deal with," Baldelli said. "… Now we have to find ways to stay sharp as opposed to find ways to keep guys going and get them through a run of games."

Baldelli particularly pointed out the bullpen as benefiting from a few days to regroup. The relievers have struggled at several points so far and have a collective 3.78 ERA with only 19 saves in 36 opportunities. With all of them rested, Baldelli will have ample arms to choose from when the season resumes July 23 against Detroit after the All-Star break.

For the position players, it's a bit trickier. No doubt some could use time off, such as Jorge Polanco with his sore back and Buxton with his right knee tendinitis. But that comes at the expense of consistent at-bats. Buxton and Arraez will trade some free days for a couple of All-Star Game innings. And there's potential for others to join them.

"We should definitely have a couple more," reliever Tyler Duffey said. "Voting is what it is. There's definitely still some opportunities for some other guys to get in."

There was conversation around a couple other Twins players for being All-Stars. Rookie reliever Jhoan Duran and his 103-mile-per-hour fastball was one, as was Correa with his stunning defense and solid hitting.

Correa was an All-Star in 2017 and 2021 with the Astros. He said personal accolades like that are great because they validate an individual's hard work, but he is more focused on the team victories.

"I feel like my first half has been pretty good, and I'm happy where we're at, we're in first place. So this is the job I came here to do," Correa said. "I didn't sign with the Minnesota Twins to try to become an All-Star. I came here to try to help this team, first, win the division and second, get all the way to the World Series."

So Correa wouldn't be too torn up about not being a 2022 All-Star for a handful of reasons. He spent the recent day off in Dallas going to the aquarium with his son and wife, Daniella. The Marvel movie fan also went to a theater to see the just-released "Thor: Love and Thunder." And the coming days without baseball will probably include more of the same.

"July is the time of the year where the body starts breaking down, and the off days are great," Correa said. "You reset at the break, and then you go back out there for three more months."