Things Still Quiet on Carlos Correa Front
Since we heard on Christmas Eve that the Mets had concerns over Carlos Correa‘s medical records, there have been no substantial reports with on updates about how the situation is playing out. The Mets had been aware of the issues and had been talking to Correa’s agent Scott Boras for at least 24 hours when the news was leaked. Mets owner Steve Cohen was understandably upset about the leak–that came from the Mets front office—and has made sure that there’s a small circle, including lawyers, working on getting a deal done with Correa.
The Mets want Correa to be in Queens for a long time, and Carlos indeed prefers not to go back onto the free agent market. Thus, it makes sense from both sides for the deal to ultimately get done. I’ve still yet to hear from someone within the Mets organization who is pessimistic about it getting finalized. The reality is that working in special language into a deal of this magnitude that can protect both sides in case of an injury is going to take a fair amount of time and, of course, the holiday season is right in the middle of this thing as well.
The Mets and Correa agreed on a 12-year, $315 million deal less than 24 hours after the San Francisco Giants expressed reservations with their 13-year, $350 million contract with the star shortstop over concerns about his lower right leg in the long term. Correa had surgery to repair the issue back in 2014 when he fractured his fibula as a minor leaguer in the Astros organization. Cohen had talked to Boras before Correa agreed to sign with the Giants, and the Mets owner wasted no time showing interest in the former Twin once Correa was back on the market. Cohen even gave the New York Post multiple quotes relaying his excitement over signing Correa in the news article that broke the story. It’s a highly unusual move for a team, much less an owner, to comment/break the news of a team agreeing to sign a player before taking an official physical.
Unlike what was previously a quick deadline with the Giants, Boras and Correa have been willing to extend negotiations with the Mets in hope of getting a deal done.
As we get close to a week that’s past since the news of the medical issue with the ankle, Mets fans are certainly getting anxious to see if Correa will indeed form a star-studded left side of the infield with Francisco Lindor.
To ease their minds, let’s look at a recent instance where a player agreed to a deal only to have the language in it altered because of medical concerns. That deal was between J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and of course, the agent negotiating that deal was Boras.
The deal between the Red Sox and Martinez was first reported on February 19 and then became official a week later on February 26 after Boston’s medical team had concerns over a Lisfranc foot injury that caused J.D. to miss time in the 2017 season. Ultimately, there was language added to the five-year, $110 million deal that would give the Red Sox options if Martinez missed time due to the foot injury. In exchange, the Red Sox agree to give Martinez an additional opt-out clause that wasn’t in the original deal.
If Martinez dealt with the Lisfrance injury or a foot injury causing him to miss a certain amount of time then the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the deal would become mutual options. In the end, it took a week for the Red Sox, Boras, medical professionals, and lawyers to finalize this deal that was originally for five-year, $110 million. And now Boras and the Mets are trying to do the same thing with a deal that was originally 12-year, $315, so you can understand why it would take time to get all the details worked out.
As we wait for news, it’s important to remember that we know it could take time, the radio silence on both ends is likely a good sign, and both sides are seemingly committed to making sure that a deal gets done.
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