Carlos Correa says Twins 'have what we need to win a championship'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Twins are in their first full week of Spring Training in Fort Myers, Fla, where the process starts to build off last season’s success.

The Twins won 87 regular season games in 2023, good enough for their third American League Central Division title in five seasons under Rocco Baldelli. They got the playoff monkey off their back, beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card Playoffs. They got a taste of postseason success, but there’s more on the bone.

During team picture day on Thursday, FOX 9’s Jim Rich sat down with Carlos Correa.

"We have what we need to go out there and win a championship," Correa said.

It’s been 23 years since a Minnesota major four sport won a championship, that was the Twins in 1991. Minus Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda leaving in free agency, the Twins have a very similar roster back in 2024.

So how does seeing playoff success translate to this season? Correa says it starts with feeding off the fans at Target Field.

"When I saw the ballpark crowded for that series against Toronto, it was time to go for us. We feed off that energy, they believe that we have a great team and saw what we could do last year. We got our feet wet, a lot of our young guys got a taste for what the playoffs look like, now we’re ready to go out there and compete against anyone," Correa said.

Correa is also healthy again after dealing with plantar fasciitis most of last season. Despite the foot ailment, he played in 135 games and hit .230 with 18 home runs and 65 RBI. He hit .409 with three doubles and four RBI in the playoffs.

He’s healthy again, and says the sky is the limit for the Twins in 2024. They have one of the better bullpens in Major League Baseball, Byron Buxton is back healthy and Royce Lewis is ready to be a star.

"When you’re healthy, you just go out there and perform and forget about all those things that you do on the field that might re-aggravate the injury. I’m just happy I’m healthy and can go out there and play freely, have a good time with the boys and just perform for my teammates," Correa said.