This time, Carlos Correa can say: “Done deal.”
Carlos Correa passed his medical exam on Wednesday and signed for six years and 200 million dollars with the Minnesota Twins, who kept the Puerto Rican player after one of the most convulsive negotiations that a free agent has gone through in Major League history. Leagues, including preliminary deals that fell through with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
Correa signed a contract official Tuesday that could amount to $270 million over 10 seasons if the star shortstop remains healthy. It’s a uniquely structured deal, conceived by the Twins to retain a player who they had twice written off against franchises with bigger checkbooks.
Deals with the Giants and Mets were torn down amid concerns raised by these clubs about the long-term condition of his right ankle.
Correa fractured his fibula after sliding at third base as a minor leaguer in 2014. As part of the surgical procedure he required, a metal plate was inserted to give additional support to the bone.
On December 13, Correa reached a 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants, who scheduled a press conference a week later to formalize the deal. The conference was canceled just before the scheduled time.
That night, Correa agreed to a 12-year, $315 million deal with the Mets, whose owner Steve Cohen is spending lavishly and even confirmed the deal.
However, New York also raised concerns about the ankle after a physical on December 22, and held off on the deal while trying to negotiate protective measures over the next two weeks.
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, insisted last month that the surgery should not have been a problem in signing the contracts.
The Twins would have had more advanced knowledge about the health of Correa, whom they signed before last season. Correa rescinded that agreement with Minnesota to try his luck in the market, after accruing 35.1 million dollars in 2022.
The only time Correa missed games was due to a finger injury, after being hit by a ball and for having contracted COVID-19.
He played in 136 games, batted .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs, and led all shortstops in the majors with an .834 OPS.
