NEWSLETTER
There it is. For weeks, all the talk was that, despite the Mets swooping in on Carlos Correa after a medical issue spooked the Giants, no other team was going to pull the same thing on the Mets. They would work it out. But the weeks dragged on.
And on. And on.
Now, more than two weeks after the Mets agreed to sign Carlos Correa to a 12-year, $315 million deal, Scott Boras has started checking in with other teams to see if he needs yet another back-up plan.
“There’s been decent hope for two weeks that Correa and the Mets could finalize the agreement, with a few alterations, and Correa’s camp had limited discussions to the Mets until Thursday. But two weeks into the discussions, the unresolved issues have at least led Correa’s agent Scott Boras to check in with other teams. The incumbent Twins, who know Correa best and offered close to $285 million over 10 years, were one of the teams in some contact with Boras.”
The wild thing here? Heyman had just written earlier this afternoon about how things with the Mets could be worked out as soon as Friday, and the general terms of the deal would likely be the same, even if there would be lots of protection language built in for the Mets.
And then a couple hours later, a MAJOR update like this? That tells me someone reached out to Heyman after his original story published, and wanted him to know – and to write – that Boras and Correa were open for business again.
Before you get TOO excited about the possibilities there, keep in mind that this could just be a leverage play. Maybe the Mets and Correa are down to a final sticking point or two, and Boras is trying to apply some pressure. Don’t forget, for as much as the Mets want to protect themselves against long-term risks associated with Correa’s surgically-repaired leg, they also REALLY want to land Correa. Maybe getting another team or two on the phone will help, and this thing will get banged out by the end of the week.
If it’s more than that, though, I think this could get really interesting.
Now that we know this leg issue is legit, and that two teams balked at super long deals after getting the medicals, it’s possible Correa and Boras will have to pivot to a shorter-term, higher-AAV type deal. The type of deal that a team like the Cubs could be into. (Note that I’m only speaking generally, since we have no idea how the Cubs would feel, financially, about trying to sign Correa even after signing Dansby Swanson. We just know that the Cubs, in the past, have really liked Correa, ideally on a shorter-term deal.)
Since the Twins are the one other team known to have made Correa an offer – the Cubs, notably, never made a formal offer – they are the most likely team to get back involved, especially since they are Correa’s most recent club.
Would the Giants get back involved on different terms? Would some surprising club jump in if the years on a Correa deal had to shrink to single digits? Have the Dodgers been lying in wait this whole time?
Stay tuned, as the Correa turns.
