Carlos Correa Agrees to $200 Million Deal With Twins After Deal With Mets Falls Apart

Carlos Correa never had the chance to say hello, but it was Tuesday.

Nearly three weeks after Steve Cohen became the owner Grab the chance to grab it to secure the All-Star shortstop — pending a physical — Correa reached agreement with the Twins on a six-year contract worth $200 million. Correa could be eligible for an additional $70million over four vesting seasons with the Twins based on plate appearances.

Correa’s right ankle — which Minor league career suffered from injury — ultimately became a point of contention between the player’s camp and the Mets. The team had sought contract language protection should Correa’s ankle prevent him from fulfilling his deal. The Mets’ original agreement with Correa was for 12 years and $315 Million. After examining Correa’s physicals, the Mets were willing to guarantee $157.5 million over six years. A $157.5 million additional in non-guaranteed cash would have been added to the deal if Correa met certain benchmarks in plate appearances, and innings played in the field.

Correa must complete an overall physical with Twins in order for his contract to become formal. However, the team had already signed off the ankle issue that led to the cancellation of the two previous contracts.

The Mets could have outbid the Twins with a shorter-term contract, but Cohen was committed to a longer deal that would lower the contract’s annual average value, which has luxury-tax implications.

Correa’s agent Scott Boras and Cohen reached initial agreement on the contract in the early morning hours of Dec. 21 (after the shortstop’s deal with the Giants failed to materialize because of ankle concerns).

Correa was originally the Giants’ first agreement. 13-year deal worth $350 million — after the Mets were late to the negotiating table — but the team pulled out, canceling a scheduled press conference to announce his signing because of concerns about his physical. Correa had surgery to fix a fractured right fibula in 2014 and ligament damage. A metal plate was placed near his ankle to stabilize the leg.

Though Correa hasn’t missed action in his major league career due to leg or ankle injuries, the player admitted to experiencing numbness in the area after sliding into second base on an attempted steal late last season.

After Correa’s deal with the Giants fizzled, Boras called Cohen, who was vacationing with his family in Hawaii, and swiftly struck a deal with the Mets. Cohen said: “This really makes a big difference. I felt like our pitching was in good shape. We needed one more hitter. This puts us over the top.”

After last season’s record of.291/.366/.467, Correa decided to opt out of his contract with the Twins. He had a slash line of.366/.467 with 22 homers. After seven seasons in the major leagues, he was with the Astros for the first seven of his major league seasons. In 2017, he won a tainted World Series crown due to a sign-stealing scheme.

The Mets would have moved Correa to third base, creating a dynamic left-side infield with Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Now it’s probable the Mets will revert to their original plan and stick with veteran Eduardo Escobar and rookie Brett Baty as the third-base options. Correa would likely have signed one or both of them, though Baty has been playing outfield in the minor leagues.

Even without Correa, the Mets project a payroll of $357million for competitive balance tax purposes. That figure excludes another $87 million penalties for exceeding the CBT’s top threshold.

Cohen’s offseason haul has included adding free agents Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and David Robertson in addition to re-signing Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo and Adam Ottavino.