Offers pulled through the mouth like bacon
Baseball stars lose 150 million
A baseball star wanted to test the market and received two offers totaling more than $600 million before his ankle got in the way. Or his agent. The story of Carlos Correa.
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The short stop Carlos Correa at work with the bat: He is also one of the stars of the MLB.
Dino KesslerHead of Ice Hockey Department
A baseball star wanted to test the market and received two offers totaling more than $600 million before his ankle got in the way. Or his agent.
This is the story of Carlos Correa. Four teams in a few weeks. Two offers of more than 300 million, withdrawn, and then back to square one – the superstar’s odyssey is remarkable, even for the notoriously overheated Major League Baseball (MLB) market.
Correa (28) is one of the best defensive players in the league, one who also knows how to hit the ball with the bat. In the spring of 2022, he will sign with the Minnesota Twins. Three years, $105 million. A contract that Correa canceled again in November 2022 – a clause in the contract allows him to do that.
Doubts after medical tests
At the end of the season, Correa tests the waters of the free market. The first offer comes from the San Francisco Giants: 350 million dollars for 13 years, the deal seems to be dry, but after the “physical” (the medical examination), the Giants take their offer off the table: in 2014 Correa had a metal plate to stabilize his right ankle, but that hasn’t bothered Correa in the past. The Giants apparently still have doubts about the sustainability of the offer.
Then, under the new owner Steve Cohen (a hedge fund manager), the New York Mets, who are particularly willing to spend, grab it and submit their offer: 315 million for twelve years. Correa’s representatives hit – but the Mets suddenly get cold feet, even in New York the medical examinations cannot eliminate the last doubts.
Has the agent failed?
Now Correa has landed back where the journey began a few weeks ago: in Minnesota. The last offer comes from the Twins, where Correa was able to play without any problems. However, they are offering “only” $200 million and six years, compared to the Giants’ first offer, a difference of seven years and $150 million. The scene is debating whether Correa’s ankle really made the difference – or whether his agent Scott Boras messed up the deals with the Giants and Mets.
At least the contract with the Twins is now set in stone: Correa passed the medical test in Minnesota on Wednesday.