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Carlos Correa apparently isn’t crossing the bridge to San Francisco after all.
Amid concerns from the Giants regarding his physical, the superstar shortstop has agreed to a new 12-year deal for $315 million with the New York Mets, per the New York Post. The stunning news came down late Tuesday evening, exactly one week after Correa and the Giants reached terms on a 13-year, $350 million pact.
Correa’s introductory conference with the Giants was set for Tuesday but ultimately postponed, with multiple outlets reporting that a medical issue surfaced during his physical. While the exact concern has not been specified, the club was weary about Correa’s back before and after striking a deal with him, per NBC Sports Bay Area.
The Giants and Correa’s camp then reportedly had a difference of opinion over his medicals, opening the door for super agent Scott Boras, whom Correa signed with earlier this year, to negotiate an alternate contract with the Mets.
The two-time All-Star is not only switching teams, again, but positions. With two-time Gold Glover Francisco Lindor entrenched at shortstop in Queens, Correa will reportedly move to third base. The 28-year-old Correa, a Gold Glover himself, has only played shortstop during his eight-year career. The same is true for the 29-year-old Lindor. Both players debuted in the majors in 2015 and finished first and second in the AL Rookie of the Year race (Correa won the award).
The two Puerto Rican natives are longtime friends and have previously teamed up in the World Baseball Classic. They’ll now constitute arguably the finest left side of an infield in baseball. Adding Correa, who boasted a 140 OPS+ for the Twins in 2022, also elevates a Mets lineup already featuring Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo into one of the game’s best.
“We need one more thing, and this is it,” Mets owner Steve Cohen told The Post. “This was important … This puts us over the top. This is a good team. I hope it’s a good team!”
The Mets certainly were in 2022, winning 101 games to earn their first playoff berth in six seasons. That was before losing Jacob deGrom to the Rangers, but before adding Correa, Japanese hurler Kodai Senga and Justin Verlander, who recently signed for two years just weeks after helping Houston win the World Series and earning his third Cy Young Award.
The Giants were hoping to be contenders, with Correa in line to be their cornerstone for years to come. His departure is a devastating development for a franchise that had finally connected with a top-tier free agent following numerous swings and misses over the past decade. Correa’s $350 million deal with the Giants represented more than twice as much as they’d ever committed to a player. Moreover, the timing of this dissolution leaves the club without another superstar to acquire on the open market and with few impact bats to even pursue for what reverts to being an unremarkable lineup.
San Francisco was unable to re-sign ace lefty Carlos Rodón this offseason and has made modest upgrades to its roster otherwise. Correa was supposed to be its big fish, but he’s off the hook in the Bay.
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