Carlos Correa wins team MVP, four other Twins awards; named one of three team Gold Glove finalists

Carlos Correa says he'd like to remain a Minnesota Twin. But if it doesn't happen, at least he has a few souvenirs of the season he spent at Target Field.

Five of them, in fact.

Correa has been voted the winner of a record five of the nine annual Diamond Awards voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, the team announced Thursday. The shortstop, eligible to declare free agency next month, has been honored as the Twins' best defensive player, their best off-field leader, their most community-minded philanthropist, their best media interviewee — and of course, their most valuable player for 2022.

"Carlos is a good, caring teammate, and he's connected with so many people this year," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said earlier this month about the two-time All-Star. "He's always trying to develop himself into a better player, and he's always open to sharing the things that he knows."

Twins fans can only hope he someday collects the team's lifetime achievement award, too. Correa batted .291 with 22 home runs and a .366 on-base percentage in his first and perhaps only season as a Twin. He also became a valuable mentor and confidant to his new teammates, and used his Correa Family Foundation to provide help to pediatric cancer patients and their families, among other charitable works.

The Twins and BBWAA will hold their annual Diamond Awards banquet, a fundraiser for neurological research and care at the University of Minnesota, on Jan. 26 at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, with or without the man of the hour.

Jhoan Duran will be there, though, to pick up a pair of Diamond Awards, having been voted as the team's rookie of the year and its pitcher of the year. The 24-year-old reliever, who posted a 1.86 ERA and eight saves while striking out 89 batters in 67⅔ innings, joins Scott Diamond (2012) and Doug Corbett (1980) as the only pitchers to win both honors in the same season.

Nick Gordon, whose 41 extra-base hits and ability to play four defensive positions made him invaluable during the Twins' injury-riddled season, was voted the team's most improved player.

The Upper Midwest Player of the Year, bestowed upon the best major leaguer from Minnesota or its neighboring states, will be awarded to Diamondbacks outfielder Daulton Varsho. The Marshfield, Wis., native and Wisconsin-Milwaukee alum hit 27 home runs and stole 16 bases in his first full season in the majors.

In addition to the awards voted upon by BBWAA members who cover the team, the Twins announced that Al Newman will be honored with the Kirby Puckett Award for community service by a Twins alumnus.

The Twins announced at the end of the season that Matt Wallner was the minor league player of the year and Louie Varland was the minor league pitcher of the year.

The Twins' need for more offseason roster space cost them veteran reliever Danny Coulombe this week, when the lefthander chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Class AAA St. Paul.

Coulombe, who turns 33 next week, allowed only one earned run in his first 12 innings of 2022, but his season ended abruptly when he began experiencing hip pain that required labrum surgery in July. He was waived this week by the Twins, becoming the sixth player removed from their 40-man roster since the season ended.

Forty-six players still remain on that roster, but six of them — pitchers Michael Fulmer and Aaron Sanchez, catchers Gary Sanchez and Sandy Leon, Correa and outfielder Billy Hamilton — can become free agents once the World Series ends. In addition, the Twins are likely to decline 2023 options for pitchers Chris Archer and Dylan Bundy and infielder Miguel Sano.

That would leave the Twins with 37 rostered players and three vacancies, space that can be used to sign free agents, facilitate trades, draft other teams' minor league prospects in December's Rule 5 draft, or protect their own fourth- and fifth-year minor leaguers from being drafted away.

Luis Arraez has already won a Silver Slugger bat for his 2022 season, as the American League's top hitter. Now he could earn a Gold Glove to go with it.

Arraez was one of three Twins to be named a finalist on Thursday for a Rawlings Gold Glove, given each season to the top defender at each position in each league.

Correa, the American League's Gold Glove shortstop in 2021 while with the Astros, and right fielder Max Kepler were also ranked in the top three at their positions, MLB revealed, in a vote of the league's managers and coaches. Winners will be announced on Nov. 1.

Arraez's chances are slim, given that four-time Gold Glove winner Anthony Rizzo of the Yankees is also one of the three first-base finalists, along with the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But it's remarkable recognition for a player who had virtually never played the position as a professional until teammates' injuries forced him there on an emergency basis last April. Arraez never committed an error in 65 games at first base.

Correa, who also won Rawlings' Platinum Glove as the best overall fielder in the league last season, is joined by his Astros successor, rookie Jeremy Pena, as well as Boston's Xander Bogaerts, as a finalist at shortstop. And Kepler's competition comes from the same two teams: Houston's Kyle Tucker and Boston's Jackie Bradley Jr., who played the final two months with the Blue Jays.