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Jeff BassinESPN
shortstop Carlos Correa The San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN.
The source said the agreement comes with a full no-trade clause but does not include any cancellation. It gives the Giants a franchise in Korea, who turned down $160 million from Houston last year, earned $35.1 million in his year at Minnesota and now gets the most money ever for a player.
It is the fourth largest contract by total value in MLB history, second only to Mike Trout$426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, Mookie Pets$365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge$360 million with the New York Yankees. The 13 years coincide with the longest ever contract for a free agent Bryce HarperA 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The path of free agents for Correa, 28, was much less choppy than it was last year, when he entered the market hoping for a $300 million-plus deal, but ended up signing a short-term contract with the Minnesota Twins that included an option-after the first season. This winter, Korea found a market that lavished $300 million on it Tria Turner and $280 million Xander Bogaerts Much more than he wanted and he ended up with the second-largest deal, behind Judge’s nine-year and $360 million contract with the New York Yankees.
In his only season with the Twins, Correa looked like his old self, hitting .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI in 136 games. Although he did not match the 2021 Platinum Glove winner, he is considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the game and posted his 4th season with 5+ wins above replacement.
The Giants pushed him like a superstar, as the combination of Corea’s center, his age, and his productivity—regular season and postseason—convinced them to make him among the highest paid players in baseball. Prior to Korea, the last player the Giants signed to a $100 million contract was a pitcher Johnny Cuetowho secured a six-year, $130 million deal in December 2015.
The franchise predetermined Korea after he went to the Houston Astros with the #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He drafted into the Astros organization and made his debut at the age of 20 in 2015, winning Rookie of the Year. By his sophomore season, Correa was one of the best players in baseball, and in 2017 he helped the Astros win their first World Series title, hitting five home runs and driving in 14 runs in 18 post-season games.
The Astros reached the American League Championship in 2018 and the World Series in 2019, and Correa has been a key player in their success. But revelations in November 2019 that Houston had employed a signal-stealing scheme during their championship season blighted the title and landed hard on Correa, who was vocal in his defense of the team.
Korea’s distinction continued unabated. He was among the best players in the 2020 postseason and played well again in 2021, pushing the postseason streak to .272/.344/.505 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI in 79 games. with a short probability Jeremy Pena Despite being poised to get into the major leagues, Houston moved on from Korea, whose free agent market didn’t materialize after an early dalliance with Detroit led to him signing a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins, which paid him $35.1. million in 2022.
At Minnesota, Correa quickly became a club leader, and over his last 120 games he hit .307/.381/.496 with 21 home runs. The Twins were hopeful he would come back, but they realized his market was unlikely to break in the same way it did after 2021.
Over his eight-year career, Correa amassed nearly 40 wars—just that Mike TroutAnd the Mookie PetsAnd the Nolan ArenadoAnd the Paul Goldschmidt And the Manny Machado You have more in the same stretch – and a career streak of .279/.357/.479 with 155 home runs and 553 RBI in 888 games. His 12.6 GAR defense ranks fourth, behind Andrillton SimmonsAnd the Kevin Kiermayer and arenado.
How long Correa stays at shortstop is a question asked by many executives during his free agency. Metric’s above-average put him in the bottom 20% of shortstops this past season while his saves on defense were just above average. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Correa is among the game’s largest shortstop players, having played 881 career games on the field.
No matter where Correa’s glove ends, his bat will determine whether the giant deal is a success. And in the short term, it will help determine whether Correa again makes it to the postseason or, for the first time in his career, misses it in consecutive seasons.
