Willie Mays. Barry Bonds. Buster Posey. And after agreeing to terms last week with the San Francisco Giants on a historic 13-year, $350 million contract, Carlos Correa. The former Astro and Twin was set to join these superstars as all-time Giants when his career is finished if he continued to play at his elite caliber. This would have been the longest deal for an infielder in free agent history.
However, six days later, Correa will no longer be wearing orange and black in the Bay Area, but will be sporting orange and blue in Queens as he shocked the baseball community by signing a 12-year, $315 contract with the New York Mets late Tuesday evening.
Correa and the Giants had a new conference planned yesterday to announce the deal during the day Tuesday, but it was postponed due to an undisclosed medical concerned that arose during his physical. Even though there was the slight issue, people throughout the industry still believed the deal would be finalized and Correa would be playing for the Giants in 2023 and years to come.
The Mets were aggressively pursing Correa most of free agency before he decided to head to San Francisco. If his deal is finalized, since it is pending the completion of a physical, Correa will join his good friend and fellow Puerto Rican, Francisco Lindor in the infield. Lindor signed a 10-year. $341 million extension in April 2021. He will remain at shortstop and Correa will move to third base.
The main person to thank for this deal is Mets’ owner Steve Cohen. He has committed more than $800 million to free agents this offseason, such as Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, Justin Verlander, and others. As of now, the Mets competitive balance payroll is in the neighborhood of $380 million, which is way over the fourth and final threshold of the luxury tax, meaning the Mets’ tax bill will be around $100 million next year.
Correa is a two-time All-Star, one-time Gold Glove Award winner and won a World Series in 2017 with the Houston Astros. He has battled injuries to his thumb, back and ribs from 2017 to 2019. During this three-year stretch, he only averaged 98 games per season, but was still dominant when he was on the field.
Correa was a free agent last offseason and could not find a suitor for a long-term deal. After he was unable to do so, he made big waves in baseball by signing a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins, which included multiple opt-outs, including the one that he exercised to become a 2022 free agent.
Now Correa will join the New York Mets, who are pursuing a championship once again after losing in the first round of the Wild Card in 2021. The Mets won 101 games last year and the Correa signing definitely makes them one of the favorites to win, not just he National League pennant but, the World Series.
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