FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Wednesday was all about the dawn of the Carlos Correa era in Minnesota. Is it too early to start thinking about when twilight could come?

It's highly unusual when a superstar of Correa's caliber buys in to transform a clubhouse like that without knowing if he'll be around to see the fruits of that commitment -- the fruits of, indeed, a highly unusual arrangement. Correa is in camp on a three-year, $105.3 million contract, but with the catch that there are opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

The wide assumption around the baseball world seems to be that Correa will opt out after the first year -- barring major injury or underperformance -- and seek the long-term megadeal he could (and arguably would) have had in a normal offseason. Still, both sides at least kept the door open to continue exploring the relationship beyond '21 when they spoke Wednesday -- though only time will tell if they were simply saying all the right things on the first day of their official relationship or if those sentiments could actually lead to more.

"Like I told [manager Rocco Baldelli] and I told [president of baseball operations Derek Falvey], we’re not seeing this like a one-year thing," Correa said. "We’re seeing this as a, 'I want to build a championship culture in this organization, I want to show you guys what I can do, what I can bring to the table,' so we can have a long-term relationship at some point."

"We enter into this, for all the reasons we just discussed about how much we love Carlos, 'how do we make this look like a long-term partnership?'" Falvey said. "But we recognize that takes work and time, and we're going to invest and get to know each other over that time. The contract structure is creative and unique. And we'll address that at the right time."

Whether Correa is in this for one year or three, there's no question that he'll pour his all into Minnesota. Bringing that winning mentality and propagating it is just who he naturally is, by all accounts. The question, then, is if Correa could eventually develop enough of an attachment to the organization and his situation that he'd be willing to forgo his chance at what's likely to be a much, much longer deal next offseason.

What could bring that about? Only he can know -- and there's almost certainly no way for him to know yet, on day one of this relationship.

What we do know is this: Correa loves Target Field, where he owns a career 1.205 OPS, his highest among any active MLB ballpark. He has a strong first impression of Baldelli, with whom he feels he'll communicate well and have unwavering support. He and his wife Daniella feel strongly about the family atmosphere and fit in Minnesota, where they'll now move with their four-month-old son, Kylo.

Correa is also convinced that the Twins are committed to winning in the short-term, and the fact that they finished in the division cellar last season doesn't bother him; he helped the Astros turn from a last-place team to a championship winner.

It helps that his agent, Scott Boras, also represents four of the Twins' foremost up-and-coming stars -- Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Ryan Jeffers and Austin Martin -- and personally attested to the fact that there's a lot more talent in the upper reaches of the organization than their recent finish might suggest.

"The conversations [the Twins and I] had, the about two and a half hours that we were on the Zoom call, it was all about winning," Correa said. "When I get that from them, that makes me excited, because I want to take up that challenge."

The other way a longer-term relationship could come about, of course, is if the Twins feel strongly enough about Correa to negotiate some sort of longer-term extension with the shortstop that could be comparable to what he would eventually land in free agency. That would be unprecedented, considering this shorter-term, three-year, $105.3 million deal already represents the largest dollar value given to a free agent in club history.

Still, could a long-term extension eventually become a possibility?

"I would say I can’t answer that today," Falvey said. "We’ll have conversations in the future about different contract structures, but we’ve worked within the parameters we know fit for us in how we’re going to build an overall roster. It’s never just about one player and one moment in time. It’s how does this Correa contract fit within our current roster? The next version of it, we’re going to have to just figure out at that time."

Of course, plenty can and will change between now and when Correa makes this decision. Much, of course, will depend on the Twins' environment and what Correa ascertains about the organization's ability to actually win now and in the future. On the flip side, if the Twins underperform, he could be traded later this summer.

So, in that sense, it is indeed too early to be thinking about these things, particularly for Correa. But the dynamics that could play into the eventual decision will develop from day one.

"For me, it's first things first," Correa said. "I'm focused on winning, and I'm focused on building the championship culture that I've been preaching ever since I got here. So for me, it's just go out there, help my teammates get better every single day. Go out there and play hard, be there for my manager every single day and eventually build a championship culture."