Less than a week after he reportedly agreed to terms with the San Francisco Giants, free agent shortstop Carlos Correa is going elsewhere. It was reported early Wednesday morning is going to the New York Mets.
The Giants were scheduled to officially introduce Correa on Tuesday. That press conference was put on hold after reports that San Francisco found a red flag in Correa’s physical. Initially, it wasn’t clear if that meant that the deal was completely off, or just delayed. Now, we know. Early Wednesday morning (late-Tuesday night in San Francisco), Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Correa and the Mets had agreed to terms.
“Breaking: Carlos Correa and the Mets have a new deal. $315M, 12 years,” Heyman tweeted.
Breaking: Carlos Correa and the Mets have a deal. $315M, 12 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 21, 2022
To say that baseball fans were shocked would be a massive understatement.
Marty Caswell, Sports 760, San Diego: What the hell
What the hell https://t.co/KIHCUtnRMI
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) December 21, 2022
Sean Fennessey, The Ringer: Can someone wake up and talk to me about this?
https://twitter.com/SeanFennessey/status/1605469926591823873
Faizal Khamisa, Sportsnet: “excuse me?”
excuse me? https://t.co/Yb1EYdEftT
— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) December 21, 2022
Ben Kaspick, Locked on Giants Podcast: “Absolutely unbelievable. The fact that the years & AAV went down suggests that something’s wrong medically. The fact he’s going to the Mets—on the day the Giants planned to introduce him—suggests that this is an absolute nightmare scenario for the Giants and their fans. Stunning.”
https://twitter.com/BenKaspick/status/1605470797664919552
While still a huge deal for Correa, the terms are less than his reported deal with the Giants. That was a 13-year contract worth $350 million, for an average annual value of roughly $26.9 million. The 12-year, $315 million deal with the Mets will pay Correa an AAV of $26.25 million.
Correa has been one of baseball’s best players since his 2015 debut. His one issue has been durability. After playing 153 games in 2016 — his first full season in the majors, Correa has not topped 150 games and has only reached 140 games once, in 2021. He did, however, play in 58 of 60 games in the COVID-19-shortened season of 2020.
Correa’s lingering health issues, as well as what (if anything) the Giants do from here will be major storylines to follow going forward.
[Jon Heyman on Twitter]
