Carlos Correa Reportedly Agrees to 13-Year, $350M Contract with Giants

One year after waiting out the market, Carlos Correa has wasted little time finding a new home by agreeing to a deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the 28-year-old will earn $350 million over 13 years from the Giants. Passan noted it is the largest contract in MLB history for a shortstop. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal also added that Correa's deal is the fourth largest deal in league history.

A two-time All-Star during his seven seasons with the Houston Astros, Correa appeared to be in line for one of the biggest long-term contracts in free agency last winter. He didn't end up signing until March 22, when the Minnesota Twins presented him with a unique deal.

Correa signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with Minnesota that included opt-outs after each of the first two years.

Despite the Twins limping to a disappointing 78-84 finish in 2022, Correa was a standout in the lineup. The 28-year-old hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 homers and 64 RBI in 136 games.

Following Minnesota's home finale on Sept. 29, the Puerto Rican strongly indicated he was leaning toward opting out by making an analogy involving Dior.

"When I go to the mall and I go to the Dior store, when I want something, I get it," Correa told reporters. "I ask how much it costs, and I buy it. If you really want something, you just go get it. I'm the product here. If they want my product, they've just got to come get it."

He made his decision official on Oct. 12.

"With the year that I have had, my health and my being at the best moment of my career at 28, that is the right decision," Correa told Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día (h/t MLB.com's Brian Murphy).

It's rare to have a player as young as Correa hit free agency twice. He turned 28 on Sept. 22 and has already built a fantastic résumé in Major League Baseball. He owns a .279/.357/.479 slash line with 155 homers in 888 career games.

Since his rookie season in 2015, he ranks fourth among all shortstops in FanGraphs' wins above replacement (31.3) and tied for fifth in weighted on-base average (.357).

He did have injury problems earlier in this career, including missing 192 total games from 2017-19.

Any concerns about his durability have largely gone away over the past three seasons. He did have a stint on the injured list last season due to a finger contusion, but he still played over 135 games for the second consecutive year.

The Giants are bringing in one of the most impactful players in MLB. Correa is a dynamic hitter who also plays good defense at shortstop. However, it's unclear at the moment what San Francisco's plan is with Brandon Crawford, who has a year left on his contract.

Nonetheless, despite missing out on Aaron Judge, the Giants may have come out better by getting Correa.

Even though Judge is the better player right now, Correa's age and positional value give him the potential to be an MVP candidate for the first several years of this deal.

It seemed apparent after Judge decided to return to the New York Yankees that San Francisco would make a splash. The team made it clear it was willing to spend money based on its reported offer to the reigning American League MVP.

The Giants have to be aggressive right now if they want to have any shot of keeping pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the National League West.

Correa can be a volatile player because of his injury woes, but the upside is so significant that everyone in San Francisco should feel happy about this pivot to adding one of the best shortstops in MLB after its original plan didn't work out.