Correa gets a 13-year SF deal worth $350 million

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

Correa also was a free agent one year ago after leaving the Houston Astros, and he reached a $105.3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins. That agreement gave him the right to opt out after one year and $35.1 million to hit the market again.

And the 28-year-old Correa indeed moved once more, this time to a Giants team that recently missed out in its bid to sign free agent Aaron Judge.

Correa’s guarantee will be the fourth-largest in baseball history. Mike Trout got a $426.5 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Mookie Betts has a $365 million, 12-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Judge, the new AL home run champ and MVP, is getting $360 million for nine years to remain with the New York Yankees pending a physical.

Correa was one of the headliners in a stellar group of free agent shortstops that also included Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson — Swanson is the only one in that group still available.

Correa got the latest big-money deal in a spending spree during the first offseason of baseball’s new labor contract.

Philadelphia signed Turner for $300 million over 11 years, San Diego got Bogaerts for $280 million over 11 years, Texas signed pitcher Jacob deGrom for $185 million over five years and the New York Mets retained outfielder Brandon Nimmo for $162 million for eight years.

Correa hit .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in his one season with Minnesota.

Brandon Crawford, a three-time All-Star, has been the Giants’ shortstop since 2011. Crawford, who turns 36 next month, slumped to a .231 average with nine homers and 52 RBIs last season, down from a .298 average with 24 homers and 90 RBIs in 2021.

Crawford has a $16 million salary in 2023, then can become a free agent. He has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and might consider retirement at the conclusion of his deal, so the Giants were searching for a shortstop of the future.

The Giants went 81-81 last season, a year after posting a franchise-record 107 wins.

Correa was selected by Houston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, and he played a key role in the Astros’ rise from the bottom of the AL West to the franchise’s first World Series title in 2017.

He hit a career-best 26 homers in 2021 in his last year with Houston, also finishing with a .279 batting average and 92 RBIs. He earned his second All-Star selection and first Gold Glove.

Just last weekend, Correa joined many of his former Astros teammates in Las Vegas for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, has a .279 career average with 155 homers and 553 RBIs in eight big league seasons. He also has been a stellar postseason performer with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 79 games.

The Astros’ 2017 championship was tainted by a sign-stealing scheme, and Correa has been lustily booed in some cities since the scandal surfaced.

Agent Scott Boras negotiated the deals for Correa, Bogaerts and Nimmo. Correa’s agreement raised Boras’ free-agent contracts this offseason to $1.01 billion for nine players.

Stripling agrees to $25M, 2-year contract

Ross Stripling made quite the memorable major league debut in San Francisco while back with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts pulled him with a no-hitter going in the eighth inning and called the decision a “no-brainer” afterwards.

The 33-year-old Stripling figures to soon be pitching many more innings in that waterfront ballpark.

Stripling reached an agreement on a $25 million, two-year contract with the Giants on Tuesday. The free agent right-hander still calls that outing on April 8, 2016, one of the most unique days of his baseball life.

“Man, it never gets old. That was seven years ago now, which is crazy, just how special that was. I think about it all the time,” he recalled. “Still get asked about it all the time, ‘Do you think you could have finished it?’ Or ‘Are you still done at Dave Roberts?’ All this kind of stuff, which I’m not.”

“It was just like a perfect combination of some of the craziest things that have ever happened. Just a crazy game and an awesome debut and will go down as a top-3, -4, -5 memory for me in my career, he said.

Stripling, who went 10-4 for Toronto last season, is now eager to be part of a San Francisco rotation featuring Logan Webb, newcomer Sean Manaea, Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has told Stripling that’s the plan.

“I expect to start. I had a good year as a starter. I feel like the couple times I’ve gotten a runway as a starter in the big leagues where I kind of knew my position in the rotation as a starter was safe is when I’ve done the best,” Stripling said in a video call . “I made an All-Star game in 2018 with the Dodgers and then this year with Toronto and I knew they basically didn’t have anyone and they gave me some runway and I was able to do well.”

Stripling’s contract includes a $5 million signing bonus, half payable in March and half in March 2024, and salaries of $7.5 million next season and $12.5 million in 2024. He can opt out within three days of next year’s World Series.

Stripling considers his unpredictability as a strength because even an opponent’s third time through the batting order shouldn’t make it easy to figure him out. He made big strides with his changeup this year, utilizing the pitch far more regularly against right-handed hitters.

“Kind of kitchen sink from pitch one where I keep hitters off balance by throwing anything in any count,” he said.

Stripling had Giants manager Gabe Kapler as his minor league coordinator with the Dodgers, San Francisco outfielder Joc Pederson as a roommate in the Los Angeles farm system and Zaidi as general manager.

Last season, Stripling set career highs of 10 wins, a 3.01 ERA, 24 starts and 134 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays. He went 9-4 with a 2.92 ERA as a starter and also 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in eight relief outings.

Stripling’s deal also calls for an annual donation of $62,500 to the Giants Community Fund.

Right-hander Miguel Yajure cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento, clearing room on the 40-man roster for Stripling.

Manaea gets $25M, 2-year contract

Free agent left-hander Sean Manaea has reached agreement on a $25 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said Monday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been finalized or announced by the club.

Manaea gets a $5 million signing bonus, half on March 15 in both 2023 and ’24, and salaries of $7.5 million next season and $12.5 million in 2024. He has the right to opt out after this season and become a free agent next fall.

He brings a key left-handed arm to the rotation joining Logan Webb, Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. The Giants could lose lefty Carlos Rodón in free agency.

The 30-year-old Manaea, who spent his first six major league seasons with the Oakland Athletics, went 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA over 30 appearances with 28 starts and 158 innings in his lone campaign with the San Diego Padres and former A’s manager Bob Melvin this year.

San Francisco finished 81-81 for third place in the NL West after a franchise-best 107 wins and a division title in 2021 before losing the best-of-five NL Division Series in five games to the rival Dodgers.

Outfielder Mitch Haniger agreed on a $43.5 million, three-year contract with the Giants on Nov. 6 at the winter meetings and outfielder Joc Pederson accepted a $19.65 million, one-year qualifying offer from the Giants last month.