After ejection, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli meets with umpires to hash out what went amiss

HOUSTON — After the game was over and tempers had cooled, Rocco Baldelli made the short walk down the hall to the umpires' locker room on Tuesday night, to have a post-mortem discussion about the play that caused crew chief Todd Tichenor to eject him.

"It was good for me, and they were up for that conversation, too. They were very open to really talking through the aspects of what was going on," said Baldelli, whose objection when umpires informed him that he had been charged with a mound visit while dealing with an on-field staredown between the teams, and therefore must remove pitcher Aaron Sanchez, earned him his fourth ejection of the season. "It's fair to say that both myself and the umpires probably assumed some things on that play. Obviously we weren't all on the same page."

Baldelli, who also conferred with Mike Hill, MLB's senior vice president for on-field operations, said he was disappointed that the umpires didn't make sure, given the turmoil on the field, that he was aware they had ruled his brief discussion with Sanchez constituted a visit.

Baldelli said he did not know what was going on and "[no one in our dugout did. We were literally just getting back into the dugout from an on-field altercation. Normally, all we do is look at the umpires constantly for signals. This is one thing we do constantly. But we had literally just gotten back into the dugout. Nobody, myself included, thought that it would be considered a visit, so we weren't looking for any signals."

He and the umpires found common ground, the manager said, so that such a misunderstanding won't happen again.

"It was good to actually walk through it," Baldelli said. "It gave multiple people in that room things to think about going forward."

He snuck it in at the end, almost unnoticed amid all his fond memories of his time in Houston and his gratitude to the Astros. Carlos Correa closed his welcome-home news conference Monday with an oath of loyalty — OK, maybe more like a bit of salesmanship — to the Minnesota Twins.

"I'm with the Twins right now, and the goal is to build something special with the organization and hopefully be here long-term," Correa said when asked if he could ever be an Astro again. "Right now I see myself playing with the Twins for a long time."

That almost certainly depends upon the Twins offering him a contract that would cover that long time, and perhaps their ability to outbid other suitors. Correa can opt out of the remaining two seasons and $70.2 million of his contract in November, and become a free agent again.

Even if he isn't offered an annual salary equal to his current $35.1 million, the pursuit of a Corey Seager-like deal — Texas guaranteed him $325 million over 10 seasons last winter — is widely expected to be too lucrative an opportunity for Correa to turn down.

Other considerations will be in play, though, Correa said, like the chance to win another World Series, as he did in 2017. The shortstop said he sees the pieces in place in Minnesota, with plenty of 26-and-under players who will only improve.

He reiterated that he wants to be part of it.

"I think this is the time to invest in this team and take it to the next level," the 27-year-old shortstop said. "They know how much I love it here. They know that I'm very happy here in this organization. But at the end of the day, it's a business, right? I understand how our front office works and all that. So if we can get on the same page, that'll be great."

The laces of the baseball that hit him are still visible on Cole Sands' elbow, inside a deep bruise and some swelling. While it's not a serious injury, it's also unclear when the rookie righthander would be available to pitch again, so the Twins elected to put Sands on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday. Lefthander Devin Smeltzer, optioned to Class AAA St. Paul on Monday to make room for Aaron Sanchez, rejoined the team and will be stationed in the bullpen for now.

That's because Sanchez will get another start, Baldelli said, this weekend against the Giants.

"I really do like his intensity and his competitive nature," the manager said of the eight-year veteran, who has struck out 12 hitters in two starts with the Twins.

Baldelli had a single in three at-bats against Justin Verlander in 2006, which is the same number of hits his team had had in 14 innings against the Astros' ace this season.

"I'm getting tired of talking about him pitching good," Baldelli complained.

He might have been talking about a no-hitter if Verlander hadn't reached his predetermined pitch limit of 90 in only six innings in Houston's 4-2 victory Tuesday. Verlander told Houston reporters he was fine with not being allowed to try to finish his fourth career no-hitter, especially since he had elbow surgery less than two years ago.

"Maybe 15 years ago, 10 years ago, when I was allowed to throw 130-something [pitches]. But not now, especially not after Tommy John and this being my first season back. I'm not going to be hard-headed," Verlander said. "I'm just trying to be smart and understand that the postseason is looming. That's when you need to be your best."

Still, he was masterful in his six innings, striking out 10 Twins and allowing only nine balls to be put in play. Baldelli was especially impressed with Verlander's curveball, which he threw more than the Twins expected.

"We thought we were going to get on top of some fastballs," Baldelli said of Verlander, whose 1.70 ERA is a career best and leads the majors. "We talked about it a lot, and he didn't throw them."