Souhan: Calm down, Twins fans. Trading Carlos Correa was the right move.

As the Twins stage pre-spring training games in August, this is a good time to offer an unpopular opinion about the biggest trade they made in July.

They were right to trade shortstop Carlos Correa.

Just as they were right to take a major risk when they signed him.

The Twins first signed Correa before the 2022 season to a three-year deal worth $105 million, with Correa having the right to opt out after the first or second year.

That was an unusual move for a team that has been cautious at best in the free-agent market.

The Twins were rewarded for their aggression when Correa played like a star in 2022, posting an .834 OPS while fielding at a Gold Glove level.

At the end of the season, he chose to opt out of the deal and said: “When I go to the mall, and I go to the Dior store, when I want something, I get it. I ask how much it costs, and I buy it. If you really want something, you just go get it. I’m the product here. If they want my product, they’ve just got to come get it.”

In a whirlwind of negotiations, the Twins signed him to a six-year deal worth $200 million that could wind up being a 10-year deal worth $270 million if Correa met certain playing parameters.

The Twins had signed a player viewed as damaged goods by other teams to the largest deal in franchise history. They again were rewarded, although this time the reward was slow in arriving.

In 2023, Correa slumped offensively but surged in the postseason, helping the Twins to their first playoff series victory since 2002.

In 2024, he made the All-Star team and posted an OPS of .905, his best since 2019, but the team collapsed around him down the stretch.

In 2025, Correa performed poorly at the plate and, more surprisingly, in the field, one of many factors that led to the front office trading 10 players last week.

The second contract was more expensive and much more risky. Correa justified his salary in the 2023 postseason and the 2024 regular season, but this season he looked like an old, worn-out, damaged former star.

That’s why for all of the justifiable consternation about the Twins’ sell-off, the front office should be commended for trading Correa to the Houston Astros while paying off roughly one-third of the guaranteed portion of his contract.

This was the one chance the Twins had to get out from under what could have turned into a terrible long-term contract.

Correa, who owns a house and trains in Houston and remains close with key figures in the Astros organization, might not have waived his no-trade clause to go to any other team.

The Astros might not have wanted Correa at any other time. They dealt for him now because of injuries to the left side of their infield.

Maybe the Twins can acquire two or three quality players for what they were scheduled to pay Correa, which would help a team with plenty of needs and little position-playing and bullpen depth.

The Twins’ signing of Correa to a franchise-record deal is also a reminder that spending alone doesn’t create good teams.

The last time the Twins went to the ALCS, they out-spent only three teams in baseball.