DALLAS -- The Twins headed to baseball¡¯s Winter Meetings willing to listen. It¡¯s part of their creative approach, and a big reason why they found their ace in Pablo L¨®pez in a trade with the Marlins for batting champion Luis Arraez two offseasons ago.

With Minnesota coming off a disappointing end to last season, followed by an announcement from the team that a sale would be explored, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Jeremy Zoll figured they¡¯d be getting calls and messages this week, including on some of their big-name players like Carlos Correa. And while they¡¯re willing to listen to ideas, they¡¯re motivated to win, not to sell.

¡°We get calls on a lot of our players,¡± Falvey said Monday. ¡°Some, we have to listen; we have to hear the conversation. Some go absolutely nowhere, but they¡¯re the guys that you would expect teams to call on. So in light of the team sale situation, some of the dynamics around our roster otherwise, I think there¡¯s enough teams kind of checking in.

¡°And what we tell every team is: Listen, we¡¯re open to being creative. We can¡¯t rule anything out before we hear it, no matter who the player is, and so we¡¯ll just be respectful of their process and what they¡¯re going through and try to kick some creative ideas around. It¡¯s what led us to a Pablo trade, or something like that, at different junctures. So we have to stay open-minded to those things.¡±

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Correa¡¯s situation was a big part of the Twins¡¯ ups and downs last season. He was an All-Star selection for the first time since 2021, his final season with the Astros. But plantar fasciitis in his right foot brought his season to a halt coming out of the break, slowing the Twins¡¯ momentum with it. By the time he returned in mid-September, Minnesota was fighting to hold on to a Wild Card spot, ultimately falling to the division-rival Tigers.

It was Correa¡¯s second consecutive season with a plantar fasciitis issue; he dealt with a similar condition in his other foot at the end of the 2023 campaign. Add in other injury issues over the past few years, and the frustration was obvious. But the Twins come back to a big point: When he plays, he thrives. Even in September, after two months off, he posted a .960 OPS.

¡°When he was on the field, he was one of the best players in the game,¡± Falvey said. ¡°And ultimately, he didn¡¯t play as many games as we would¡¯ve liked because he was dealing with the plantar fasciitis. That was unfortunate. But when he played, he was really good for us, and he¡¯s a leader. He¡¯s a key member of the clubhouse. You expect teams to call on players like that, especially with where we are and some of the conversations we¡¯re having with other clubs. But we want to win, and a high bar is set.¡±

In other words, don¡¯t expect the Twins to try to unload him. Correa has four guaranteed years left on his contract, plus four club options that become guaranteed based on playing time, MVP votes or awards.

Correa, for what it¡¯s worth, is doing fine this offseason. According to Falvey, he told head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta that he feels better at this stage than he did last offseason following plantar fasciitis in the other foot.

¡°I think that¡¯s a really good sign, and we¡¯ll just keep tracking in the right direction,¡± Falvey said. ¡°One thing I can tell you about Carlos: No one¡¯s going to be more attentive to the things he needs to do over the course of the offseason to make sure he¡¯s in a good place.¡±