The San Francisco Giants gave Carlos Correa $350 million to bring his talents to the Bay Area, and the late-night Twitter reactions were gold.
MLB offseason action never sleeps, and therefore neither do the folks who pay attention to it.
Thus was the case on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when the San Francisco Giants reached a deal to sign free agent shortstop Carlos Correa. Something was going to happen with Correa, as it felt like push was coming to shove in terms of rumors turning into reality. All throughout the day, reports were being pushed that both the Giants and Minnesota Twins were competing to sign Correa, with the New York Mets surprisingly throwing their hat in the ring at the 11th hour.
For all of the drama, San Francisco turned out to be the final destination for Correa and the price was steeply paid. Correa agreed to a $350 million deal that stretches over the next 13 seasons, meaning he’s effectively planning on spending the remainder of his carer with the Giants. Correa will be 41-years-old when his contract expires, and the likelihood he ends up honoring the deal seems high.
As part of the deal, Correa has no opt-out and a full no trade clause. This means he and the Giants will have to mutually agree upon an exit strategy should things reach that point.
As for the more immediate, Correa’s deal sent shockwaves throughout baseball. Regardless of the hour at which the deal was struck, folks woke right up on Twitter and came charging in with their reactions to the monster late-night deal:
https://twitter.com/jeffeisenband/status/1602890004795097090
For what it’s worth, as much as the Giants are getting dragged for the length of the contract handed to Correa, it’s a deal that could age very well given the direction salaries are headed.
Of course, it’s worth noting that monster contracts like this almost never end up going the distance. Whether it’s Albert Pujols and the Angles or Robinson Cano and the Mariners, the list of big contracts in baseball that didn’t end up getting completely served out is long.
Time will tell if Correa can buck the trend, but a decade is a long time to experience ups and downs.