The New York Mets and star shortstop Carlos Correa have reportedly agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
After Correa had reportedly agreed to a $350 million, 13-year deal with the San Fransisco Giants last week, on Tuesday, the Giants decided to postpone Correa’s introduction after a medical concern arose during the shortstop’s physical.
According to Heyman, Correa’s camp disagreed with San Fransisco’s assessment and decided to work out a deal with New York instead.
Heyman is also reporting that Correa will stray from his usual position at shortstop, and step in and play third base for the Mets.
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.
The 28-year-old 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.
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.
— With files from Associated Press.
