BOSTON — The two Twins who know they'll be Twins in 2027 were happy to welcome a new member to the club on Tuesday.
"He's a winner," Byron Buxton, whose contract runs through 2028, said of Pablo López, who sometime this week will sign a four-year, $73.5 million extension to begin next spring. "It definitely feels good [that] the next few years, we've got that ace heading the team."
Carlos Correa, whose deal could extend all the way to 2032, agreed that he's been impressed with the righthander, who was acquired in a trade with Miami in January.
"He's a guy that puts in the work. He takes care of every single facet of what you need to take care of to be great," Correa said. "He's young. He's in his prime. He's just getting better. It was a great addition."
Neither López nor the Twins are ready to comment on the deal, which is not yet official because López has yet to undergo a physical. But Buxton and Correa were happy to credit the Twins with the willingness to pay up to keep the best players around them in Minnesota.
"It's huge. It's huge. You have that and obviously, you build around it," Correa said. "We've got a great farm system [and] we've got a great group of guys here right now. We've got a good team, a team that can get it done."
And if they can't, Correa added, he's confident that "whatever additions we've got to make, I'm sure the front office will make them. Right now, I feel really good about this team."
On-field swings
Four hours before first pitch on Tuesday, Buxton was getting some swings in, which isn't unusual. What made it out of the ordinary was the location: At home plate. On the Fenway Park diamond.
