The Mets are signing a star infielder Carlos Correa to a 12-year contract worth $315 million, per multiple reports.
Correa’s deal with the Mets is pending a physical.
The agreement with the Mets comes after Correa had come to terms on a 13-year deal with the Giants worth $350 million, only to have it fall through after Correa’s physical.
Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, “Correa’s camp and the Giants had a difference of opinion on the medical,” and agent Scott Boras and Mets owner Steve Cohen worked out a deal.
“We need one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told The Post. “This was important… This puts us over the top. This is a good team. I hope it’s a good team!”
Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle confirmed Correa’s deal with the Metsreporting that the “Giants flagged something in the physical and doctors disagreed.”
Correa, who has played only shortstop during his big league career, will play third base for the Mets, per Heyman, with star Francisco Lindor entrenched at shortstop.
Correa, 28, hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 24 doubles in 136 games for the Minnesota Twins in 2022, opting out of his three-year contract after the season.
During his eight-year career with the Twins and Houston Astros, Correa has slashed .279/.357/.479 with 155 home runs, 186 doubles, 553 RBI, 508 runs scored, and an OPS+ of 129.
Correa is a two-time All-Star, won a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2021, and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2015.
Before Correa initially came to terms with the Giants, Cohen and the Mets made a late bid to land him. That attempt came up short, but the Mets now have Correa (pending the aforementioned physical), putting an apparent exclamation point on an offseason that has been historic in terms of spending.
Prior to reportedly coming to terms with Correa, the Mets had been in search of more punch for their offense, and had been linked to Michael Conforto and others. But with Correa a Met pending a physical, the Mets’ offense now appears largely set.
What this means for the future of third base prospect Brett Baty is unclear. Baty has played primarily third base in the minors, but started 11 games in left field in 2022 after starting 18 games there in 2021.
Before coming to terms with Correa, the Mets’ offseason included re-signing a closer Edwin Diaz to a five-year deal worth $102 million, signing a right-handed pitcher Justin Verlander to a two-year deal worth $86.6 million that contains a third-year option, bringing back center fielder Brandon Nimmo on an eight-year deal for $162 million, signing star Japanese right-handed pitcher Kodai Senga to a five-year deal for $75 million, adding a left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana on a two-year-deal for $26 million, signing catcher Omar Narvaez to a two-year deal worth $15 million, inking right-handed reliever David Robertson to a one-year deal worth $10 million, re-signing right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino to a two-year deal for $14.5 million, and trading for a left-handed reliever Brooks Raley.
If the Mets’ deal with Correa is finalized after his physical, their estimated payroll for the 2023 season will be roughly $384 million, more than $90 million clear of the top luxury tax threshold of $293 million.