Mets Reportedly Skittish About Carlos Correa’s 2014 Leg Injury
The Giants backed out of their 13-year, $350 million contract with shortstop Carlos Correa over unspecified concerns with his physical, so the Mets swooped in with an offer. Now that 12-year, $315 million pact could be in jeopardy as the Mets, no strangers to misdiagnoses of injuries, have also raised concerns over their would-be third baseman’s medical records. It’s not related to the balky back everyone had been worried about, though.
According to Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic, the trepidation stems from a fractured right fibula Correa suffered as a 19-year-old minor leaguer in 2014. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the fracture and minor ligament damage and has not missed any time since due to issues with his right leg. It’s wild to me that something from so long ago is raising eyebrows now, but I guess that’s what happens when teams are looking to finalize deals that run longer than a decade.
I can’t imagine the Mets will walk away because owner Steve Cohen is more than happy spending money on payroll and luxury tax penalties, but it’s possible they could try to restructure the terms. Then there’s the possibility that another team steps in with a deal similar to what Correa got from the Twins last season, though you have to think Scott Boras wants to capitalize on what has been a very free-spending market.
That said, next season’s free agent class is not very strong and should only feature a max of three elite players if the Red Sox fail to extend Rafael Devers. Heck, it’s possible Shohei Ohtani is traded and extended. Manny Machado is expected to opt out of the remaining five years and $150 million on his deal with the Padres, but even that isn’t guaranteed. So even though long-term security is the ultimate goal, Correa could probably do worse than taking a big AAV deal for 2023 and hitting the market again.
It would be absolutely chef’s kiss perfect to see the deal with the Mets fall apart and for them to come up just shy in the postseason again. C’mon, Jed, time to be a chaos agent.