Carlos Correa would take more than 200 swings and lift

WEST PALM BEACH Francisco Cervelli Jersey , Fla. (AP) —weights every day during spring training in years past.After a season when he missed six weeks with a back injury that lingered for the rest of the year, he has altered his preparations. Houston’s shortstop has vastly cut back on everything from swings to how many sprints he runs in hopes that taking it a bit easier in February and March will lead to better health in September and October.“I overworked during spring training and it showed up midseason with all the other workload,” Correa said. “Obviously my back getting hurt, it came from all that work. It was way too much. This year I’ve laid off a little bit of some of the things I did last year and I’m trying to work smarter.”That means limiting his swings to no more than 30 at a time and about 85 in a day and cutting his weightlifting to three times a week.“I’m still working hard, it’s just not like I did back then,” he said. “It’s just being smart about it.”He also is more cognizant of taking care of his back away from baseball, too, and thinks that will help him avoid similar problems in the future.“That’s one thing I learned from last year is to be conscious of the workload and everything that I do on and off the field,” he said. “When I’m lying at home on the couch I try to sit right and get a good posture. Nobody needs to tell me now. I know.”Correa hit .268 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs the first half of last season. But he never got over a pinched nerve in a disk in his back in the second half and batted just .180 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.His struggles led to ending the 2018 season with the lowest batting average of his four-year career (.239) and his fewest hits (96), doubles (20), homers (15) and RBIs (65).Manager AJ Hinch believes the down year will provide a bit of extra motivation for the always-driven Correa.“I don’t think many people are doubting him, but he’s going to want to prove the doubters wrong http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey ,” Hinch said. “He’s a huge part of this franchise and guys like to prove it.”Correa hadn’t experienced much adversity in the majors before last season after winning rookie of the year in 2012 and developing into one of Houston’s top players in the two seasons after that. But he did recall a time he didn’t play to his standards and the haters came after him in full force.“When I got picked first in the draft and I went to rookie ball I was obviously tired after that whole process and I didn’t perform as well,” he said. “And people were like, ‘Oh he’s going to be a bust, blah, blah, blah.’ And I ended up making it to the league in a couple of years and the rest is history.”The 24-year-old, who was an All-Star in 2017, has never lacked in confidence. And that hasn’t changed simply because of one subpar year. He is determined to out-do his 2017 season, when he set career marks by hitting .315 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs.“It’s just a bounce-back year of Carlos being Carlos,” he said. “Do what I’ve always done. I want to be able to continue the good defense that I played last year, and put up monster numbers at the plate, better numbers than I put up in 2017.”Correa has looked good so far in Grapefruit League play http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , with four hits in five games after collecting two more on Sunday against the Nationals. Hinch said along with being healthy, Correa has learned to be more selective about the advice he takes concerning his game.“He’s got a complete understanding of the game and what he needs to do to be good,” Hinch said. “But he will tinker. He would listen to anybody that offers advice and I think his filter has gotten a little bit better as he’s gotten older or more mature to what’s really important to help him.”Injuries slowed the Astros in a loss to the Red Sox in the ALCS last season, preventing them from returning to the World Series. Now that Correa and 2017 AL MVP Jose Altuve have put their injuries behind them, Correa is excited to see what this team can do in 2019.“I feel like we have the best team in the league hands down,” he said. “We’ve just got to be able to go through the whole season and be healthy.” Matt Roberts/Getty ImagesCuban siblings Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. are officially Major League Baseball players after agreeing to a deal with the Miami Marlins:Miami Marlins MarlinsThe Marlins are adding to the familia. xeWSxjjj6oOn Saturday, MLB.com's Jesse SanchezreportedVictor Victor Mesa will receive a signing bonus of more than $5 million and Victor Mesa Jr. will get around $1 million.The Mesa brothers were declared free agents by MLB in September. Both players are under the age of 25 with less than six years of professional experience, making them subject to international signing rules that limit how much they can sign for.At 22 years old, Victor Victor Mesa does have experience playing under the spotlight. He was on Cuba's roster during the 2017 World Baseball Classic, hitting a robust .429/.429/.714 with two doubles and three RBI in six games.MLB.com ranked Mesa, who will likely play center field, as the No. 1 international prospect in the 2018 class:"Overall Corey Dickerson Jersey , Mesa is considered an outstanding defender with a strong arm. He's also a plus runner and scouts like his upside and pedigree. There's the belief that Mesa would be selected in the first round if he was eligible for the Draft, and he's the type of hitter who could be placed at the top of the order. However, there are questions remaining about his hit tool and power potential because he's not considered 'a pure hitter' like fellow Cubans Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada were at the same age."Victor Mesa Jr. will need a lot of seasoning in the minors. He is just 17 years old and didn't make MLB.com's ranking of the top 30 international prospects.Given the reported $6 million investment in both players, this was a no-brainer deal for the Marlins. Victor Victor Mesa has terrific upside and is advanced enough to move quickly through the minors. It wouldn't be a stretch to see him debut at some point early next season.Victor Mesa Jr. is a wild card at this point in his career with years to hone his talents before making a contribution in the big leagues.The Marlins desperately needed to do something this offseason that would build excitement within their fanbase. Their new ownership group that came in last year traded Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna before the start of the 2018 season.Without those three stars in the outfield, Miami posted the National League's worst record (63-98). The fans sent a message by staying away from Marlins Park.The Marlinsranked last in MLB with an average attendance of 10,013 per game and were the first franchise that failed to reach at least one million total fans in a season since the 2004 Montreal Expos.The NL East is on the rise with the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies taking steps forward last season.The Washington Nationalsh or without Bryce Harpertill have a strong nucleus to be in the playoff picture in 2019.Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. don't solve all of Miami's problems, but they are crucial building blocks for a franchise that needs more talent.