Carlos Correa agrees to contract with Twins after deals with Giants, Mets fall through
Carlos Correa reversed course for a second time, agreeing Tuesday to a $200-million, six-year contract that keeps him with the Minnesota Twins after failing to complete deals with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.
The agreement for the All-Star shortstop could be worth $270 million over 10 seasons if Correa remains healthy. The contract is subject to his passing a physical exam, the person said, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not announced. Correa was in the Minneapolis area on Tuesday for the physical, the person said.
Correa agreed Dec. 13 to a $350-million, 13-year contract with the Giants, who scheduled a news conference a week later to announce the deal, then called off the announcement hours before it was set to begin over concerns with a right ankle injury Correa sustained in 2014.
Correa agreed that night to a $315-million, 12-year deal with the Mets, who also had concerns about the ankle after a Dec. 22 physical and held off finalizing the agreement while attempting to negotiate protections.
His Twins agreement calls for an $- million signing bonus, half payable next month and half in February 2024, and salaries of $32 million in each of the first two seasons, $36 million in 2025, $31.5 million in 2026, $30.5 million in 2027 and $30 million in 2028.
Even before the reduction of Trevor Bauer’s suspension last month, the Dodgers were taking a more restrained approach with their payroll this offseason.
Minnesota’s deal includes options for $25 million in 2029, $20 million in 2030, $15 million in 2031 and $10 million in 2032, each becoming guaranteed if Correa has 502 or more plate appearances in the previous season. The deal could be worth $225 million over seven seasons, $245 million over eight years and $260 million over nine seasons.
Correa’s options also could be triggered by a top-five finish in most valuable player voting, a Silver Slugger award or World Series or League Championship Series MVP.
After the physical, the Mets were willing to guarantee $157.5 million over six seasons, the person said.
While the guaranteed money kept decreasing in each successive agreement, the average annual value increased from $26.9 million with San Francisco to $33.3 million with Minnesota. New York’s deal originally would have guaranteed $210 million in the first eight seasons.
Correa left Houston and joined the Twins last offseason for a $105.3 million, three-year deal that included opt-outs after each season. He pulled out of the deal after making $35.1 million in 2022 to chase a longer-term contract.
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, maintained last month that the player’s 2014 surgery to repair a broken right tibia should not have been an issue. Dr. Kevin Varner, chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at Houston Methodist Hospital, operated on Correa.
Boras in prior years had worked out medical issues in contracts for Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordóñez with Detroit and for J.D. Drew and J.D. Martinez in Boston.
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