NEWSLETTER
This is just bonkers. For as much as the story became about the Giants’ unreasonably balking at Carlos Correa’s physical, and then the Mets savvily swooping in overnight to sign him, there was always the matter of the Mets‘ physical to take place. And it’s definitely not just the matter of checking a box, even on a slightly reduced contract.
Apparently … it’s an issue:
Just as the Giants did, the Mets have now identified concerns with Correa’s surgically-repaired right leg from a break eight years ago. It’s not yet clear what is going to happen, from the Mets trying to renegotiate to a possible third run through free agency. Maybe the Twins would have to be the team to come back in (they had offered 10 years and $285 million)? Or maybe Correa will have to take another shorter-term, higher-AAV type deal?
This has the potential to turn seriously ugly, because the Mets have been VERY public about how they wanted to snag Correa from the Giants, and we all know what damage could happen to Correa’s market if a second team passes on him for the same physical issue. Scott Boras might fight to the fullest extent the CBA allows to force the Mets to stick to their 12-year, $315 million agreement.
Yes, you could probably start dreaming about the Cubs coming back in with a short-term, high-AAV offer – even after adding Dansby Swanson, they do have that opening at third base – but if that’s where this goes, then I think lots of teams would get back involved, including all of the Giants, Twins, and Mets.
More on this is coming, without question.
UPDATE: Jon Heyman broke the news about Correa signing with the Mets in the first place, so I suspect he has good sources on this one:
Ultimately a renegotiation with the Mets – some health protections built into the deal – makes the most sense given how this has all played out, but you just can’t bet on anything at this point. It’s not like Correa and Boras are just gonna say, yeah, sure, make the last six years a team option or some crazy thing. For all we know, Boras is on the phone with the Twins right now trying to line that 10-year, $285 million offer back up.
Even if the concerns here are not near-term, there was always the question about what happened to Correa’s speed/defensive ratings this past season. We assumed the big drop was a blip, because it was just one year and those one-year metrics are so noisy. But if you’re committing $300M and the physical shows risks with the leg? You start to wonder about a possible connection, no? In other words, I think it at least reframes the question a little bit.
UPDATE 2: Jesse Rogers reports that the expectation is that the Mets and Correa will be able to work this out eventually:
Despite the latest delay, a deal with the Mets is still likely, according to the source, but the contract could be reworked to account for the issue. That reworking could simply be for fewer years and less money or could include language that doesn’t guarantee a certain amount of money if Correa misses lengthy time because of the specific leg ailment.
