Agreement between Mets and Carlos Correa reportedly has hit a snag
Carlos Correa #4 of the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 14, 2022 in Anaheim, California. Credit: Getty Images
The Mets and Carlos Correa have hit a snag in completing their big deal.
Reports on Christmas Eve said the Mets have concerns about something in Correa’s medical report. It is not known for sure, but it could be the same concerns over an old leg injury that led the San Francisco Giants to cancel a news conference to announce a 13-year, $350 million agreement with Correa.
The Mets still are expected to complete their 12-year, $315 million deal with Correa. Perhaps they will guarantee fewer years or less money. Perhaps they will overlook the problematic medical reports and do the deal as first agreed to.
It seems unlikely the Mets will back out altogether, especially given that chatty owner Steve Cohen boasted about the deal before it was finalized.
Correa became available to the Mets after his agreement with San Francisco fell apart this past week. Cohen swooped in during a Hawaii vacation, re-engaged Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, and quickly agreed to a deal with the 28-year-old shortstop. If it is finalized, Correa will move to third base to play alongside his pal Francisco Lindor.
All that was required for Correa’s Mets pact to become official was passing the physical, which took place in New York on Friday.
Not so fast, apparently.
“There is no current issue with Carlos’ health whatsoever,” Boras said on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, where he attended an introductory news conference for Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon. “There’s been a lot of discussion about backs and ankles and there’s nothing about him that currently has any form of medical issues. All the conjecture and evaluation of him has been about physicians using their crystal ball for years to come.”
Correa is a two-time All-Star, was the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year and won a World Series (that some consider tainted because of a sign-stealing scandal) with the Houston Astros in 2017.
In 2022 with Minnesota, Correa compiled a slash line of .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 62 RBIs and was worth 4.4 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. His 140 wRC+ (adjusted runs created) was third among qualifying shortstops. Correa also was fifth in MVP voting in 2021 and is a proven postseason performer with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 79 games.
The Mets’ major moves to date have included signing pitchers Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and David Robertson, plus catcher Omar Narvaez, and re-signing Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo and Adam Ottavino.
Cohen has committed $807.1 million to free-agent contracts in the last few months. If the Correa deal goes through, the Mets’ Opening Day payroll is projected to be $389 million for luxury tax purposes, per FanGraph’s RosterResource, by far the highest in baseball. Add the competitive balance tax of about $114 million and the total financial commitment likely exceeds a half-billion dollars.
With Laura Albanese
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
