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Carlos Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 homers and 5.4 WAR with the Twins in 2022.
Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Carlos Correa’s new nine-figure contract is awaiting a physical review. This week is the Twins‘ responsibility; if they have any questions about the process, they can ask the giantsthe Correa team from December 13 to December 21, or the Dishes, the Correa team from December 21 until Tuesday noon. In the past 29 days, the shortstop has signed with 10% of Major League Baseball. Correa, 28, must have spent more time in an MRI tube than with his family during the holidays.
But perhaps that will be the deal that stands: apparently six years for $200 million guaranteed, plus four vesting options that could bring the total to 10 years for $270 million. This follows the 13-year, $350 million deal the Giants offered, then revoked once they got Correa’s physical exam results, and the $315 million deal over 12 years that the Mets offered, then revoked once. they or they obtained the results of the physical examination from Correa. These teams haven’t been specific about their concerns, but they appear to stem from a broken right leg that Correa suffered as a 19-year-old minor leaguer in 2014. He underwent surgical leg repair and a plate of metal inserted, and he hasn’t been on the disabled list because of it since, but in September he said he felt the plate vibrate during a hard slide into second base.
At first, it looked like Correa’s winter would go straight ahead. He became one of the best players in the game with the Astros but didn’t get the kind of long-term offer he wanted when he first forayed into free will a year ago. He signed with the Twins for three years and $105.3 million with an opt-out after each year, and after posting an .834 OPS in 2022, he exercised first.
The Giants, who had just lost Judge Aaron by bidding on the Yankees, blew the field away with their offer shortly after the winter meetings. Correa has been shopping for homes in San Francisco, and the Giants have scheduled a press conference for Dec. 20. But three hours before the scheduled start, they canceled it; they had seen the results of Correa’s medical examination and decided to withdraw their original offer. They wanted to renegotiate; Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, decided to negotiate with the rest of the league instead.
He texted Mets owner Steve Cohen, who had recently expressed disappointment that he had only entered the Correa contest at the last minute that “Correa-mas” had come early. Cohen, vacationing in Hawaii, negotiated with Boras overnight; by the morning of December 21, they had an agreement.
The following day, Boras said, “There are no current issues with Carlos’ health.” He added: “All the guesswork and assessment of him is about, you know, doctors using their crystal ball for years to come.” But obviously the Mets didn’t like what their crystal ball was showing either; Correa has failed his physicality, and the Mets have spent the last two and a half weeks trying to add language to the contract that would protect them if Correa’s right leg prevents him from continuing the excellent career that made him so attractive in the long run. treat first. They reportedly offered him six years for $157.5 million guaranteed– half of the original terms – the last six years depending on his health.
All the while, the twins had been hiding. They originally offered Correa a 10-year contract worth $285 million; when talks broke down with the Giants and then the Mets, they refused to raise it and, in fact, eventually lowered it. But their guarantee of $33.3 million a year for six years beat the Mets’ offer of $26.25 a year. He said he enjoyed his time in Minneapolis last year and the team was thrilled with his leadership. His health makes him a risk, and the Small Market Twins can’t afford to be wrong. But only in bizarre circumstances like these would they have access to a player of this caliber in a deal they can afford. If center fielder Byron Buxton can stay healthy and utility man Luis Arraez, who won the batting title last year, can continue to play at the All-Star level, the Twins could work their way to the playoffs. Suddenly, the winter in Minneapolis isn’t so cold anymore.
At least until next week when Correa signs with his next team.
