The Carlos Correa Watch continues, and another team shows interest in Eduardo Escobar

Another day of rumors about the status of Carlos Correa's contract. Plus, the Tigers are the latest team showing interest in trading for Eduardo Escobar

Rich MacLeod

and

Michael Baron

Jan 5, 2023

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

The Tigers could be interested in 3B Eduardo Escobar in a trade if and when the Mets’ deal with Carlos Correa is complete (The Athletic)
Drew Toussaint will be the Mets’ amateur scouting director, succeeding Marc Tramuta (The Athletic)
Radio announcer Wayne Randazzo officially announced that he is leaving the Mets broadcast booth to become the TV voice of the Angels (Randazzo)

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Correa Watch: Day 16 🚨

On December 21st, the Mets and Carlos Correa reportedly agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract. However, after undergoing a physical later that week, the Mets raised similar concerns to that of the Giants over Correa’s leg. San Francisco had originally agreed with Correa on a 13-year, $350 million contract the week prior.

In 2014, Correa broke his fibula and sustained ligament damage close to his ankle, requiring surgery to remedy. Correa has never missed any time due to the injury in the major leagues. Correa has missed only 42 of a possible 384 games since the start of the 2020 season, much of which came in 2022 after being placed on the COVID-19 injured list midyear.

Both Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen and Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, are on record discussing the contract, with both instances taking place before Correa took a physical with the Mets.

Should the deal be completed, Correa will join the Mets as their new regular third baseman…

January 4 - SNY

The Mets’ deal with Correa is “going to get done,” per Britt Ghiroli

January 3 - The Athletic

The Mets are expected to get a deal done with Correa, potentially by the end of the week, and it will likely be a dramatically different looking contract
New York has the leverage, but they still want Correa to be happy with the deal both sides eventually agree to

January 2 - New York Post

Talks are expected to resume again between the Mets and Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, following a lull over the holidays
There is still a good chance both sides come to an agreement

January 1 - Associated Press , SF Chronicle

The Giants are among the teams that have checked back in with Scott Boras on Correa, but they will not pivot back to a new deal even if the Mets fail to complete their deal with him

December 29 - Daily News, New York Post

Mets owner and CEO Steve Cohen is upset with the leak about the team being concerned with Correa’s physical, and has made sure there’s only a small circle in the know about what’s currently happening
Other teams are being told that for now, it’s, “only a Mets game” with Correa. “I’d be surprised if he’s not [a Met],” one person said.
Both the Mets and Giants likely see post-traumatic arthritis in Correa’s ankle

December 28 - New York Post, SI , MLB Network

There are no other teams currently involved in Correa’s free agency (MLB Hot Stove said on-air by Jon Morosi)
The deal is seen at 51-49 at getting done
The issue with Correa’s leg won’t necessarily impact him over the next 3-5 years, rather towards the second half of the contract
The injury/surgery on Correa’s leg is at risk of becoming arthritic with time
That Correa hasn’t had any problems at all with his surgically repaired leg/ligament - aside from minor impact last season - suggests his leg is holding up well

December 27 - SNY

The Mets and representatives for Correa were working again on Tuesday to come to a revised agreement, but no details on progress have been offered to the public at this time

December 26 - New York Post

Correa is committed to finalizing this deal with the Mets, although he isn’t open to restructuring the length and financial terms of the contract
It is unclear whether or not discussions have resumed following a break on Christmas
There is a, “55 percent” chance a deal will be completed between Correa and the Mets
The Mets were well aware of the findings from the Giants’ doctors after he took his physical with the Giants
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, and the Mets could try to work language into the contract which would protect the club financially if Correa were to miss an extended period of time due to an injury specific to his fibula

December 25 - New York Post

The two sides are trying to work through the issues found on Correa’s medicals
The Mets and Correa’s camp remain optimistic a deal can be completed
The two sides were discussing the MRI results compared to the functionality of the joint along with Correa’s recent history of dependability
Other teams have checked in on Correa since his deal with the Mets hit a snag, but both sides are, “motivated” to work through the issues

December 24 - Mets share similar concerns as the Giants did over Carlos Correa's physical

December 21 - Mets and Carlos Correa agree to 12-year, $315 contract

Stories to read 🔗

Striking a balance between Carlos Correa and the Mets… ✍🏻

by Michael Baron

So this has been going on a lot longer than anyone might’ve thought, and probably anyone on both sides of this negotiation might’ve hoped.

I mean, look at that timeline we keep updating. This started between Carlos Correa and the Mets on December 21, 16 days ago.

The questions everyone keeps asking are as follows:

What’s going on? Why is it taking so long?
Is this ever going to get done?
Is the longer it takes, the less likely the deal gets completed?

I am going to try and roll the answer to all three questions into one response. That response is based on everything we know, logical deduction, the subtraction of emotion, and simple common sense.

The answer to all of this is simple: There’s nowhere at the moment for either side to go. The two sides need each other in whatever form of a contract they can agree to at this point.

First off, Correa is seriously unlikely to get a decade-long deal elsewhere at this stage of the game. Two physicals for the same issue with two different clubs have been flagged. And to be fair to both clubs, this is a serious issue not so much about what it might mean for today, but what it might mean as Correa ages into his 30’s.

It’s legitimate, it’s fair, and it’s not at all unreasonable for the Mets to seek protection in the language of a revised deal.

If I had to guess, if Correa could get a deal of at least ten guaranteed years elsewhere right now, this negotiation with the Mets would end and he would jump on that other ship. Since that hasn’t happened, we can only conclude the Mets have the best deal Correa can possibly get right now, whether he ultimately wants to be with the Mets for the rest of his career or not.

There have been a lot of comparisons drawn to Scott Boras’ negotiation for a revised deal with JD Martínez and the Red Sox in 2018, which included language about a specific length of time the player would have to spend on the injured list in order for the protection clause to kick in for Boston. Certainly, the Mets are seeking similar protections for Correa, but the circumstances are a bit different. First, the player ages are a little different, and second, the length of the proposed deals are different as well, which could mean the Correa/Mets situation is more complicated as a result.

And, when a negotiation involves such provisions, legal issues can arise from a labor law perspective, rules regarding guaranteed money have to be considered, and these situations involve lawyers for both the club and the union in addition to the key stakeholders trying to negotiate the deal. Throw in the holidays last week and the process simply gets bogged down by a more complicated process to write a deal.

However, none of this means a deal won’t get done. Again, there appears to be nowhere for Correa to go. Yeah, there has been some noise about some teams checking back in with Mr. Boras on Correa, and the Giants even acknowledged some kind of conversation about it, but there’s clearly no traction for Mr. Boras anywhere else. And for the Mets, they do not want to let the air out of the balloon of a very, very positive off-season. The only way I can see this failing is if Mr. Boras gets a ten year deal from another team with guaranteed money, no provisions and a full understanding of what Correa’s physical is all about.

Why would any team do that at this point? If that does happen, Boras should take it. Period.

It’s all why this should eventually get completed between Correa and the Mets.

Having said all of that, the Mets need to strike a balance here of protecting their own interests and making sure the player is happy with the final result. Again, the Mets concerns are legitimate and understandable, as were the concerns of the Giants. The Mets have shown good faith in remaining engaged with Boras and Correa, clearly indicating they want the player and want to work this out fairly and amicably. And aside from the money, it’s important for any employee or prospective employee of a company to feel wanted (think about your own situation in your workplace in that context for a moment). They know they have all the leverage and Mr. Boras presumably recognizes that as well at this stage of the game, but at the same time it’s going to be important they know that at the end of this line, which certainly cannot be as pretty for Correa as he might’ve hoped when he opted out of his contract, that he’s not going to enter into what is still very likely to be a career-defining relationship with any hard feelings over this.

That part is going to be on the Mets. If I knew how that was achieved, I probably wouldn’t have needed to take a mortgage out on my house when I bought it.

And assuming this gets done, there’s a whole other chapter of the off-season to read titled, “who gets traded?”

Hot Stove 🔥

The Red Sox and 3B Rafael Devers agreed to an 11-year, $331 million contract extension (Feinsand)
The Pirates and CF Bryan Reynolds are $50 million apart in their contract negotiations (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The Brewers signed LHP Wade Miley to a one-year, $4.5 million contract (Rosenthal)
Milwaukee also officially acquired RHP Bryse Wilson from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations
The Dbacks re-signed RHP Zach Davies to a one-year, $5 million contract (Heyman)
The Cubs signed 1B Eric Hosmer to a one-year contract — the club will pay him the league minimum as the Padres are responsible for the remaining $38 million of his contract (ESPN and USA Today)