In this offseason, it seemed like Carlos Correa was going to become one of the largest free agent signings of the whole winter. He agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. 12 hours later, the New York Mets offered Correa a $315 million contract over 12 seasons. He accepted the second offer.
What happened? The Giants were reviewing Correa’s medical history and became hesitant to offer such a massive deal to a player who in the past had a surgically repaired right leg, particularly an ankle injury when he was 19. As it turns out, the Mets also were reluctant to sign Correa.
After having tested the free agent market and had two teams back off, Correa decided to return to the Minnesota Twins on a six-year, $200 million deal. This contract also features a vesting option for four years and $70 million. While it could be a great bonus, Correa likely lost out on $150 million due to the worries over his medical history.
Nonetheless, it is not all bad news for Carlos Correa. Despite the huge drop in total salary, Correa will eventually have a higher average annual salary in Minnesota. He will also get to be more present in his children’s lives. Both of Correa’s children are below two years old now, if he played in San Francisco for 13 years, he would miss lots of key moments and milestones.
The shortstop – or maybe more particularly, his wife, Daniella – understands they are still set for life in the grand scheme of things. Carlos Correa told The Wall Street Journal:
“This might be better for our family in the long run. I can be a father and raise my kids. My wife told me she thinks this works better for our family and asked me, ‘What can we do with $350 million that we cannot do with $200 million?'”
There is another silver lining for Carlos Correa. When the contract ends, he will be 34 years old, as opposed to the 40 or 41 he would have been with one of the longer contracts. He could possibly sign another deal in 2029. Who knows what the market will look like then? Carlos Correa may have another opportunity to get another big contract.
For now, he will get to be near his family while still making hundreds of millions of dollars to play a game that he loves. That is a solid deal no matter how you may want to slice it.