Giants executive Farhan Zaidi said the club raised concerns with Carlos Correa’s representative immediately when an issue arose with the shortstop’s physical that led to the deal falling through. Zaidi, San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, spoke publicly Friday for the first time since Correa’s $350 million, 13-year contract expired Dec. 20. An introductory press conference was canceled about three hours before it was to start that day. Correa and agent Scott Boras then reached a new deal with the Mets for $315 million over 12 years. “I was on the phone with Scott Boras on Monday that we did the proper physical on Carlos when his plane landed in San Francisco at 5 p.m. and those conversations continued from that point, so any suggestion that this was something last minute it’s not accurate,” Zaidi said on a video call with a small group of reporters. “As soon as we had information we shared it. We have a good working relationship with Scott Boras and his agency.” Zaidi confirmed that the Giants and Correa’s camp had “a difference of opinion about the physical.” The differing opinions concerned a right ankle injury and surgery in 2014 when the star infielder was playing Class A, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the rules. Of privacy. Correa’s deal with the Mets is being held back by similar concerns. Zaidi said it’s important and standard front office practice to “show them the respect of reporting any concerns immediately and not waiting until the last possible second.” He expressed having a good relationship with Boras. In fact, the Giants were close to finalizing a two-year, $36 million contract with outfielder Michael Conforto, another Boras client who has already had a successful physical. Since Correa’s contract with New York has not yet been finalized, San Francisco “has had some conversations since then” with Boras, according to Zaidi, but “at this point they are focused on a deal elsewhere, so I think there is chances of a deal with us right now is pretty unlikely based on his position.” In addition, Zaidi wanted to emphasize to the Giants’ loyal fan base that each decision was made as a group, not by any one individual. “One thing I would like to make clear and I think it’s really important to us as an organization that our fans hear from me and hopefully believe that our organization was totally unified every step of the way as this played out.” Said Zaidi. , “in the initial persecution, in the negotiation and in what unfortunately happened later.” Zaidi has faced criticism this offseason after missing out on Aaron Judge and then Correa. While Zaidi called it a “frustrating situation” for everyone involved, he is trying to keep everything in perspective, noting: “This is baseball, I feel so lucky to be in this job, I love it, I love the responsibility that comes with it. And part of my responsibility is to support and encourage other people when things don’t go your way and not dwell on the negative.” He’s holding up under scrutiny and hopes to continue to improve the list by 2023. Zaidi, 46, former assistant of the Oakland A’s general manager, he came to the Giants in November 2018 from his previous job as general manager of the Dodgers.“It’s always a little annoying when you open your Twitter app just to see what’s going on in the world and your name is trending, and that’s generally not a good thing,” he said. “At the end of the day I understand that it comes with the territory. We have fans who really care, are really invested in this team, and at the end of the day, we don’t Our job is simply to put a team that is attractive and fun to watch on the field.”
