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Twins connect with Carlos Correa’s camp as Mets deal remains unofficial

Betsy Helfand, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
10

In the hours after Carlos Correa’s deal with the San Francisco Giants hit a snag, the Twins touched base briefly with his agent, Scott Boras, before the all-star shortstop agreed to a deal in the middle of the night with the New York Mets.

That deal was agreed upon on Dec. 21, and still, it has yet to be made official. Concerns about Correa’s surgically repaired right ankle, which he had a plate inserted into after a 2014 injury, have sent the Mets and Boras back to the negotiating table.

And while it is still most likely that Correa ends up in Queens, N.Y., the Twins and Boras have talked recently about Correa, an industry source confirmed.

It is unclear if the Twins are the only team other than the Mets that Boras has discussed Correa with in recent days — the New York Post reported that Correa’s camp had “renewed contact with at least another interested team or two beyond the Mets.”

The Twins had presented Correa, who opted out of the final two seasons of his three-year deal, a 10-year, $285 million offer before he chose San Francisco on a 13-year deal which would have paid him $350 million. Given the concerns about his ankle from both the Giants and Mets, it seems highly unlikely that deal would be on the table if Boras and the Twins were to seriously reengaging in conversations.

Correa has not been on the injured list with an ankle injury since the injury occurred when he was a minor leaguer, but the concern is more focused on how his ankle would hold up at the end of a long-term deal rather than the beginning.

Correa had a brief scare with his ankle when he aggravated it on a slide late last season. But after staying on the ground for a moment, he stayed in the game.

“He just hit my plate,” Correa said at the time of a Royals infielder. “I had surgery and he hit it. Just felt numb. Vibrating. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary, but when I moved, I knew I was good.”

The shortstop played in 136 games for the Twins in 2022, twice landing on the injured list — once after being hit on the hand with a pitch and once after testing positive for COVID-19.

Correa’s camp and the Mets reportedly have been working through proposed contract language for the 12-year, $315 million deal, which would require him to move off his natural position — shortstop — to third base and allow him to join forces with fellow Puerto Rican shortstop Francisco Lindor.

SNY’s Andy Martino reported Friday morning that the Mets have grown “very frustrated” with the Correa negotiations and “are now considering walking away altogether,” though his report also noted that there was still a strong chance Correa and the Mets reached a deal.

Correa has not commented publicly throughout his free agency. At one point, after news of his Giants deal had leaked, he changed his header on Twitter to Oracle Park. Earlier this week, he posted a picture on Twitter holding his young son Kylo, who was wearing a onesie depicting the phrase, “I Love NY,” using a hot dog for the “I” and a pretzel for the heart. Alongside that, he wrote the caption, “Going to work with daddy today,” with a heart-eyes emoji.

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