Correa Deal With Twins Official; Mets Issue Statement

Updated Post – Jan. 11, 11:38

The Minnesota Twins announced on Wednesday morning that they officially signed star shortstop Carlos Correa. The almost-Met released the following statement, “Wow what a journey it’s been. A lot of emotions involved throughout the whole process but always believed at the end of the day God will put me in the right place.”

Once the deal became official, the Mets released their own statement, “We were unable to reach an agreement. We wish Carlos all the best.”

Updated Post – Jan. 11, 09:52

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Carlos Correa has passed his physical with the Minnesota Twins and the team will make an announcement at some point today.

Original Post – Jan. 10, 14:02

The long-running Carlos Correa saga has finally reached a conclusion with the Minnesota Twins agreeing to a deal with Carlos Correa, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. It seems the New York Mets decided to walk away from the star free agent and end all contract talks.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mets offered Correa a fully guaranteed six-year, $157.5 million deal. They would have paid the shortstop $210 million over eight years, and $315 million over 12 years (non-guaranteed). Jon Heyman of The New York Post also reported that the Mets were willing to fully guarantee six years at $157.5 million, but the final six years of the deal would have been only conditionally guaranteed. As a result, Correa opted to return to the Twins where he will make $42.5 million more in the first six years of his deal with Minnesota. Heyman also suggested that Correa and the Mets couldn’t get past the language issue that ultimately proved to be the backbreaker in negotiations.

It was reported on Thursday by Andy Martino of SNY that the Mets had grown “very frustrated” in their negotiations with powerhouse owner Scott Boras. While a source did tell Martino that they “still believed the sides stood a strong chance of reaching an agreement,” that hasn’t proved to be the case. Monday night, then, Ken Rosenthal reported talks between the Twins and Correa were “accelerating.” it reached a fever pitch Tuesday with a new deal.

Passan says Correa and the Twins agreed to a six-year, $200 million deal with a vesting option that will bring total money to $270 million. The deal is pending a physical. The $200 million guaranteed is over $100 million less than what he agreed to with the Mets, and over $150 million what he agreed to with the Giants. This new deal with the Twins is for half the years and nearly half of the money. It should be noted the Twins approved of a three-year deal with Correa just last offseason, so doctors would only need to sign off on four additional years. If his contract vests, it’s assumed that means his ankle will remain healthy over the length of the deal.

The Mets’ (and Giants’) previous concerns with money and years were over Correa’s ankle, which we’ll dive into in a moment.

Today’s news brings to an end what has been a frustrating few weeks for all involved with the Mets. It started on December 21 when, after the Giants saw their 13-year, $350 million offer to Correa crumble over an issue with the player’s medical history, the Mets swooped in. After all, Cohen had previously spoken about his disappointment about missing out on Correa having launched an 11th hour bid to bring him to Citi Field, as well as revealing his admiration for the player.

It was reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post that the Mets and Correa had reached an agreement on a 12-year contract worth $315 million deal. It was the latest blockbuster swing-for-the-fences type move by Cohen in a long line of them this offseason, and the team had added another All-Star to their roster overnight.

However, before Mets fans even had a chance to tone down their excitement for the 2023 season, a rather large hurdle was placed in front of the team in the form of Correa’s troublesome medical history. The same lower right leg injury that spooked the Giants also gave the Mets reasons to be concerned during a medical. That was revealed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Christmas Eve.

The party line by multiple reporters ever since Christmas has been that the two parties have been working through any issues over Correa’s health. Lawyers were involved in negotiations with the Mets and Correa, with Martino reporting earlier this week that a resolution could come sooner rather than later, while Heyman suggested a deal could finally be reached by the end of this week. Rosenthal had previously reported that the final contract would look “dramatically different” to the original terms that were agreed to.

While this has been an unprecedented situation, the Mets are hardly swimming in uncharted waters. After all, Boras has been here before having re-negotiated JD Martinez‘s deal with the Boston Red Sox back in 2018. Boston’s medical team raised concerns over a Lisfranc foot injury that forced Martinez to miss time during the 2017 season. Ultimately, all parties agreed to new language being added to the deal that gave the Red Sox options. Martinez was also granted an additional opt-out clause that wasn’t in the original deal.

Due to the complexities of the new contract being thrashed out, it was always understood that it would take time for the Mets to close out a deal with Correa. The general school of thought was always that Correa would eventually end up in a Mets uniform, but that positive thinking slowly ebbed away over the last few days.

It does seems that the Mets reached their limit in discussions. Given how badly Cohen wanted Correa, coupled with how long negotiations have dragged on, the fact that no agreement was reached is somewhat surprising. The underlying feeling was always a case of if and not when, but it appears that discussions have fallen off a cliff over the past couple of days.