Still, the Twins seemed interested in bringing him back in January. “They told me they might re-sign me. I was in the middle of a group of potential players, so I have to wait,” Solano said. “The next day, (Carlos) Santana made a deal” with the Twins that ended their interest.
Solano is not bitter, however. “They know how to run a business,” he said. Plus, he’s landed in a place and situation that he’s excited about.
“I was excited to come back and play in the major leagues, and on a team that can compete,” Solano said of the San Diego Padres, for whom he had a .304 batting average in 66 games, mostly as a replacement for third baseman Manny Machado’s hip injury. “I know San Diego wanted to wait and see what happened, just like Minnesota. When they said they wanted me, I was so excited.”
Solano, who said he is in regular contact with Correa, Willi Castro and Jose Miranda, spent a half-hour outside the Twins dugout on Monday talking with his old friends. And he wasn’t the only one.
Luis Arraez was at Solano’s side for almost as long, hugging his former teammates and laughing as he repeated complicated handshake techniques with them.
“I cried when they traded me,” Arraez said of the 2023 deal that sent the Twins’ reigning AL batting champion to Miami for Pablo López and two minor league players. “I played there my whole career. I’ll never forget Minnesota. I miss Minnesota. I still have an apartment there.”
