Superstar shortstop Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins are finalizing a six-year, $200 million contract, pending the outcome of a physical, after three weeks of discussion to salvage a deal with the New York Mets soured, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
The surprising turn of events ends a marathon of a month for Correa, who agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants on December 13. After the Giants raised a red flag over concerns about Correa’s surgically repaired right leg, he pivoted quickly over to the Mets, who offered him a 12-year, $315 million contract. The Mets flagged his physical as well, and valiant efforts to restructure the deal fell apart, leading Correa back to the ‘Twin Cities’, where he signed after a turbulent offseason last year, too.
The agreement includes a vesting option for four years and $70 million and will become official if Correa is able to pass a medical review, which is currently taking place. The focus will be on his lower right leg, which he broke in 2014 during a minor league outing, and a source stated the Twins expect to be comfortable with it. Correa has not spent time on the injured list for a right leg injury in his eight-year big league career, but Giants and Mets medical staff were leery about how the leg would age over time.
Correa, 28 years-of-age, is among the game’s elite shortstops and came into the winter in hopes of securing the mega-contract that escaped him last offseason, when he ran out of options and had to settled for a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins that included an opt-out after the first season. Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and high-level defense, leaving the Twins hopeful he would consider returning after he hit the free agency market.
Minnesota never intended to play in the $300 million-plus neighborhood, and after American League MVP Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees, the Giants, in search of a franchise player, blew that number out of the water for Correa, leaving the Twins to try to save their winter by acquiring outfielder Joey Gallo and catcher Christian Vazquez. All the while, they lurked in the weeds as the contingency plan for Correa, excited to potentially add him to a powerful batting order that also includes All-Stars Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez in addition to top prospect Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach.
Should Correa pass his physical, the Twins are more knowledgeable about his medical situation than any other team and earlier in the winter considered a 10-year, $285 million deal, which is around what the current deal would wind up at if the option vests, Minnesota will enter 2023 with strong hopes of winning the American League Central division.
The Mets, however, will come into spring training without the player owner Steve Cohen told the New York Post “puts us over the top” right after the team and Correa agreed to terms. It was the shock of the winter, a middle-of-the-night coup by the Mets that took the most expensive team in baseball history and added a two-time All-Star and vaunted postseason performer who would push the payroll close to $500 million.
What came next was similar to what had allowed the Mets to have an opportunity at getting Correa’s services in the first place. When the Giants scoffed at giving Correa the fourth-largest deal in baseball history because of the leg, he wasted no time, agreeing with the Mets less than 12 hours later. After the Mets’ physical raised similar questions, Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, continued to engage in talks with the organization, understanding that a second failed physical could cause Correa’s value to plummet. Talks with the Mets were nearing three weeks, and the lack of substantial progress pushed Correa back onto the market, questionable medicals and all.
They certainly wound up influencing the deal’s length, although Correa’s average annual salary of $33.3 million will be the second highest at the position, behind Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, whom Correa had planned on playing alongside at third base. The deal falls short in total dollars of the 11-year deals signed by fellow shortstops Trea Turner ($300 million with Philadelphia Phillies) and Xander Bogaerts ($280 million with San Diego Padres) this winter but trails only Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract in annual value.
