In a wild twist overnight, Carlos Correa agreed to a $315 million, 12-year contract with the free-spending New York Mets after his pending deal with the San Francisco Giants came apart over an issue with his physical.
The agreement with the Mets was confirmed to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical. Details were first reported by the New York Post.
“We need one more thing, and this is it,” Mets owner Steve Cohen told The Post from Hawaii. “This puts us over the top.”
Correa, an All-Star shortstop, would play third base for the Mets, with buddy Francisco Lindor remaining at shortstop.
“This really makes a big difference,” Cohen told The Post. “I felt like our pitching was in good shape. We needed one more hitter.”
Correa’s addition would increase the Mets’ luxury tax payroll next year to the $385 million range, putting them on track to pay a record tax of about $110 million – more than double the current high of $44 million set by the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers. The estimates would change if Correa’s deal contains deferred money or if New York trades players.
Correa would cost the Mets $49.88 million next year in salary and tax, if there is no deferred money in the deal.
The Giants postponed a news conference Tuesday to introduce Correa after a medical concern arose during his physical, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
Correa and the Giants agreed on Dec. 13 to a $350 million, 13-year deal, subject to a successful physical, one of the people said. One person confirmed that Tuesday’s conference was put on hold because the sides were awaiting the results of testing. A second person said a medical issue was flagged during Correa’s physical.
Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi confirmed Wednesday that there was indeed a concern raised during the physical. Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, struck a deal with Cohen and the Mets less than 24 hours later.
“While we are prohibited from disclosing confidential medical information, as Scott Boras stated publicly, there was a difference of opinion over the results of Carlos’ physical examination,” Zaidi said in a statement. “We wish Carlos the best.”
New York was in talks with Correa and still pursuing him just before he agreed to sign with the Giants, The Post reported.
“We kind of picked up where we were before and it just worked out,” Cohen told the newspaper.
Major League Baseball and the players’ association instituted a new fourth luxury tax threshold last winter, dubbed the “Cohen Tax” because it was aimed at Cohen. The added threshold starts at $293 million in 2023, and the Mets will pay at a 90% rate because they will owe tax for the second straight year.
New York won 101 regular-season games last season, the second-most in franchise history, and lost to San Diego in the wild-card playoff round.
Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, has a .279 career batting average with 155 homers and 553 RBI in eight big league seasons. He also has been a stellar postseason performer, with 18 homers and 59 RBI in 79 games.
Just about the only knock on Correa’s resume is durability. He has played at least 150 games in a season only once because of various injuries.
Correa 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 the two-time All-Star the right to opt out after one year and $35.1 million to hit the market again.
Correa, 28, hit .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI in his one season with Minnesota. He terminated his deal and went back on the free-agent market.
YANKEES: Aaron Judge was appointed captain of the New York Yankees on Wednesday, becoming the first team captain since Derek Jeter retired at the end of the 2014 season.
Judge, the reigning American League MVP, agreed earlier this month to a $360 million, nine-year contract to remain in pinstripes.
“This is an incredible honor I don’t take lightly,” Judge said at a news conference at Yankee Stadium, with Jeter sitting a couple seats away.
As Judge pursued Roger Maris’ American League home run record and set a new mark with 62, some teammates started publicly lobbying for him to become captain, among them first baseman Anthony Rizzo and pitcher Nestor Cortes.
New York had six previous captains in the Steinbrenner family era: Thurman Munson (1976-79), Graig Nettles (1982-84), Willie Randolph (1986-88), Ron Guidry (1986-89), Don Mattingly (1991-95) and Jeter (2003-14).
“Not only great baseball players, but great ambassadors of the game and great ambassadors of the New York Yankees,” Judge said of the former captains. “How they pride themselves on the field, day in and day out, how they take pride in what they do off the field and represent this organization and represent these pinstripes. This is an incredible honor I don’t take lightly.”
A four-time All-Star, Judge hit .311 this year and tied for the major league lead with 131 RBI.
“Yankee fans are big on history and tradition,” Jeter said. “It’s not a title that’s thrown around too lightly.”
RED SOX: Boston has signed versatile free agent Niko Goodrum to a minor-league deal, according to a report by Robert Murray of FanSided.
Goodrum, 30, has played every position except catcher and pitcher. He broke into the majors in 2017 with the Twins, then spent four years with the Tigers before heading to the Houston Astros in 2022.
He has a career .226 batting average with a .688 OPS.
ORIOLES: Baltimore agreed to a one-year contract with right-handed reliever Mychal Givens.
The team said the deal also has a mutual option for 2024.
Givens began his big league career with the Orioles and was with them from 2015 until he was traded to Colorado during the 2020 season. He pitched for the Rockies and Cincinnati Reds in 2021 and with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 2022.
He went 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 59 appearances this year.
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