Carlos Correa's reported 13-year, $350 million contract agreement with the Giants appears to be off, as the All-Star shortstop reportedly agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets, The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported late Tuesday night.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reported a short time later that the Giants "flagged something" in Correa's physical, and there was a disagreement with doctors.
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Heyman later confirmed Slusser's report that Correa's camp and the Giants disagreed over something in the physical, so his agent, Scott Boras, did a deal with the Mets.
While the Giants planned for Correa to play shortstop, with Brandon Crawford moving to third or second base, Heyman reported that the Mets plan to have the Platinum Glove winner move to third, with incumbent Francisco Lindor remaining at shortstop.
Correa's reported agreement with the Mets comes roughly 15 hours after the Giants postponed a press conference in which they were scheduled to introduce him as the new face of the franchise.
Initially, no reason was given for delaying the press conference, which was to take place at Oracle Park, but the Associated Press later reported, citing sources, that a medical issue was the reason for the postponement.
San Francisco Giants
After missing out on reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge in free agency, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi quickly pivoted to Correa, and on Dec. 13, he reportedly had landed the superstar he'd coveted. But one week later, Correa is headed to the Mets, and the Giants are left without a cornerstone player.
The Mets, led by billionaire owner Steve Cohen, have enjoyed a huge offseason, pushing their 2023 payroll past $350 million by striking deals with free-agent pitchers Justin Verlander, David Robertson, Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga; re-signing outfielder Brandon Nimmo and closer Edwin Diaz, and reportedly agreeing to a new deal with setup man Adam Ottavino. Correa's addition should move that number closer to $400 million.
“We need one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told Heyman after news of the Correa agreement broke. “This was important … This puts us over the top. This is a good team. I hope it’s a good team!"
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While Cohen and the Mets celebrate, the Giants now must proceed without Correa. Most of the notable free agents are off the board, so if Zaidi is going to improve San Francisco's roster, he'll likely have to do it through the trade market.