Carlos Correa will need to produce more as a third baseman

La Velle's 3-2 Pitch: Three observations and two predictions on Sundays.

. . .

Manny Machado hit 32 home runs and drove in 102 runs last season for San Diego . Nolan Arenado pounded pitches over the wall 30 times while adding 103 RBI in St. Louis.

Austin Riley hit 38 home runs with 93 RBI for Atlanta. These are players providing legitimate power and production to third base.

It remains to be seen if Carlos Correa, after one highly paid season with the Twins, joins those three as one of the premier third basemen in baseball. Reports Saturday said the Mets had questions with his physical as they prepared to sign him to a 12-year, $315 million contract. The only reason Correa was going to join the Mets at all was because earlier in the week the Giants pressed pause on a $350 million contract after they also had health concerns, leading agent Scott Boras to look elsewhere.

If this deal with the Mets gets completed, though, New York will be bringing on a shortstop masquerading as a third baseman.

Don't get me wrong. Correa — who has never played third base in the majors but would need to move because New York already has Francisco Lindor at short — has the athleticism to play the position, and his arm is unquestioned. But he has never had a 30-homer season and has never driven in 100 runs in a season. And my third baseman who is being paid $315 million needs to do that.

Correa's career OPS and OPS+ plays well at any position. But the stakes are raised now.

Correa batted .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI with the Twins last season while earning a whopping $35.1 million. He was a good player. I criticized his production late in the season after he batted .175 in July. He hit .283 in August and .355 over the final 31 games to finish strong. But more was needed from him in the middle of the year, when starting pitchers weren't getting deep into games, the bullpen was leaking runs and the Twins needed all the offense they could get.

I advocated for the Twins to re-sign Correa because the alternatives at shortstop until prospect Royce Lewis recovers from a second knee surgery aren't very appealing. Kyle Farmer can play the position but has never had an OPS over .732 in his career. And the Twins really lack righthanded pop now, which makes the signing of .199 career hitter Joey Gallo even more concerning.

Correa would be joining a Mets team that will be favored to win the World Series. Anything short will be a failure for a team with a payroll of nearly $500 million after luxury taxes are applied. Being a shortstop who hits 22 home runs and adds 64 RBI is one thing. Doing that as a third baseman is a problem.

Instead of taking the Twins' 10-year, $285 million offer to remain a shortstop, he opted to go to New York and play third base, where a good offensive season is beyond anything he has achieved to this point in his career. Good luck with that.

Jordan Greenway said he always enjoyed playing against Ryan Reaves when he was an opponent.

"He always made sure you were up for games," Greenway said. "You've got to know when he's on the ice. He's always in your ear. Some guys have learned the hard way that if you don't know where he's on the ice, if you aren't keeping your head up, bad things can happen."

Wild fans likely will only agree with the end of that statement, that bad things can happen when Reaves is on the ice. Once hated when he was with the Blues, Golden Knights and Rangers, Reaves is forcing Wild fans to cheer for him because of his physical style. One of the knocks on the Wild in recent years has been that it lacked size. Reaves provides that, and one big hit from him can change the course of a game.

It's time to buckle up as both Gophers basketball teams enter the meat of the Big Ten schedule. It will be a test for both squads.

The men (6-6) already have dropped conference games to Purdue and Michigan. On Thursday they barely hung on to beat Chicago State, and they face Alcorn State before the Big Ten schedule picks up again. But it's evident that they lack firepower, and Jamison Battle's early shooting slump isn't helping matters. Five-star recruit Dennis Evans can't get here fast enough.

The outlook for the Gophers women (8-5) is a little better. It's a team that just needs experience. Freshman Mara Braun already is a star and freshman Amaya Battle, Jamison's sister, might end up being the best player in the family.

Pinstripe Bowl pick: The Gophers will have their hands full with a streaky Syracuse team in the Pinstripe Bowl. Look for the Orange to take an early lead and negate Minnesota's ball control offense. Syracuse wins 33-19.

Warm weather wishes: It's Christmas, so I predict that everyone will get all the presents they wanted today. And I predict warmer temperatures this week!