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THE WOODLANDS – Carlos Correa arrived at the Texas Children’s Hospital with his family in tow Saturday afternoon, for a visit he hoped would impact both the children he was about to meet and his own.

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Correa’s young sons, Kylo and Kenzo, accompanied the Houston Astros infielder and his wife Daniella as they visited about a half-dozen young patients in their rooms and delivered gifts before the holidays.

Each patient interacted with Correa. He bantered with one boy about the online game Roblox – “I have a feeling that you’re really good at that game” – and his voice rose when he learned it was a young girl’s birthday. Handing a signed baseball to a patient who had asked to see Correa after hearing he was in the building, Correa said: “This might be the ball you strike me out with one day.”

At least once, meanwhile, Correa handed a bag of gifts to 4-year-old Kylo in the hallway and had him carry it into the room.

“It’s important for me to bring my family and the kids because they’ve got to see that the world is not just baseball and just being at home, playing sports,” Correa said. “There’s a lot that’s happening out there in the world that they still don’t understand and I want them to understand that. We’re going to be grateful for what we have, but also with what we have we’re going to help everybody around us.”

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Correa’s efforts have extended beyond the diamond with the Correa Family Foundation, which in part provides aid to pediatric cancer patients and their families, both in Houston and Minnesota during his three-plus seasons with the Twins. The Correas have hosted young patients at the ballpark and visited children’s hospitals in both places as part of the foundation’s goal.

“It’ll never get easier when you see kids in pain and having to go through chemotherapy and everything that they have to go through, and their parents having to leave their jobs and come here,” Correa said. “It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money, and this is where we want to be helping people.”

Correa thanked hospital staff and stopped for photos as his group made its way around the floor. For an athlete who played most of the past four years in another part of the country, it all underscored Correa’s enduring ties to Houston.

From a baseball standpoint, Correa will be the Astros’ third baseman next season. How exactly the team around him will look is still in flux. Correa, reacquired by the Astros on a contract that will run through at least 2028, voiced optimism.

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“Our owner is always making moves to make the team better, so I expect us to make some moves and just get better as a team,” Correa said. “I haven’t been too involved in social media and seeing what’s happening out there, what the league is doing, but I have great confidence that every time we show up to spring training, we’re going to show up with a winning team.”

This article originally published at Houston Astros’ Carlos Correa spreads holiday cheer, optimistic about team’s 2026 prospects.