One of the biggest free agents in all of Major League Baseball will change his plans. Earlier this month, it was announced that superstar infielder Carlos Correa would head to the San Francisco Giants on a 13-year deal worth $350 million. But in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it was reported that Correa — who was slated to be unveiled by the Giants a day earlier — would actually join the New York Mets.
Correa, a 28-year-old infielder who played for the Minnesota Twins last season, will head to Queens on a 12-year contract worth $315 million, making him the latest flex of Mets owner Steve Cohen’s financial muscle this offseason.
The New York Mets current payroll is estimated to be around $384 million. The luxury-tax payments alone will exceed $111 million. Their total payroll projects to be $495 million.
The previous max payroll in baseball: less than $350 million. Mets are at almost half a billion.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2022
Since free agency began, the Mets signed:
– Carlos Correa, $315M
– Brandon Nimmo, $162M
– Edwin Díaz, $102M
– Justin Verlander, $86.6M
– Kodai Senga, $75M
– Jose Quintana, $26M
– Omar Narvaez, $15M
– Adam Ottavino, $14.5M
– David Robertson, $10MTotal outlay: $806.1 million.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2022
It is, to put it lightly, a stunning turn of events just hours after the Giants were slated to reveal Correa. According to the Associated Press, something concerned San Francisco while Correa went through his physical, which led to the team postponing the news conference where the All-Star would be announced as a member of the franchise.
One person confirmed to the AP that Tuesday’s conference to welcome Correa was put on hold because the sides were awaiting the results of testing. A second person said that a medical issue was flagged during Correa’s physical.
It is unclear what, exactly, caused this concern, but it evidently did not scare off the Mets from adding another bat to its lineup. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the expectation is that New York will keep Francisco Lindor at shortstop and move Correa to third.