Carlos Correa’s camp and Mets higher-ups are continuing to negotiate contract details after the team cited an issue in his medical following their 12-year, $315 million agreement in hopes of finally making the superstar infielder a Met – perhaps even by week’s end.
It’s been more than two weeks since the sides came to their middle-of-the-night deal hours after it became clear Correa’s $350 million agreement with the Giants was in trouble for the same reason. While there are no assurances here, Correa’s agent Scott Boras appears only to be talking to the Mets now, fueling the belief on the part of both sides that a deal is likely to get done with the Mets.
Mets general manager Billy Eppler and top lawyers for the team have been handling the bulk of the talks over the last two weeks, but it’s seen as another positive sign that club owner Steve Cohen – who did the deal with Boras in the wee hours of Dec. 21 from Hawaii, where he was vacationing – seems involved again.
The latest word is that while the main terms – $315M over 12 years – may be unlikely to change much, if at all, the Mets have made clear they are intent on diminishing their risk via important language additions and/or alterations, according to sources familiar with the talks. The Mets are concerned about a lower leg/ankle injury and subsequent operation performed in 2014, when Correa was in the minors. Though he has not missed time in the majors related to that injury, and according to Boras has received no related treatment either, the Mets’ doctors — similar to the Giants’ — have raised concerns about how the leg will hold up over a contract that would extend until Correa is 40 years old.
Assuming the Mets are able to add contract language that would protect them in case the area of concern flares up, some part of the $315M deal may become less than fully guaranteed. The sides still need to work out exactly how many Injured List days or other facts may allow the Mets to convert some part of the deal to non-guaranteed dollars. Depending upon how the talks unfold, the new deal may not be fully guaranteed, but could still give Correa the potential to earn about the same amount of money overall if the specific ankle injury does not lead to more issues over the length of the contract.
There is a fair amount of precedent with past players, including notable Boras clients, who have had contracts revised before becoming official to protect teams against prior injuries reoccurring.
In 2018, the Red Sox signed J.D. Martinez (whose agent is Boras) to a five-year, $110 million contract that was only finalized after new contract language offered Boston salary relief over the final two seasons if Martinez spent a certain amount of time – reportedly more than 60 days overall or 12 days in any season – on the Injured List with a Lisfranc (foot) injury.
In 2007, J.D. Drew signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Red Sox that didn’t become official until 52 days after the deal had been agreed to. The altered deal reportedly allowed the Red Sox to void either of the final two years of the contract if Drew spent a specific amount of time on the IL because of his surgically repaired shoulder.
Similar provisions of protection for the team were also included in contracts for Ivan Rodriguez (with the Tigers in 2004) regarding past back issues, and Magglio Ordonez (with the Tigers in 2005) regarding his surgically repaired knee, both of whom also counted Boras as their agents. It isn’t believed that the potential dollars of the deal were altered in any of those cases. In none of the cases did the previous injury flare up and allow the team to lessen its financial commitment.
In this case of Correa, both sides have keen interest in completing the deal. Correa was reportedly very excited upon hearing that a Mets deal had been worked out several hours after the snafu occurred with the Giants, to the point of jumping on Boras in the San Francisco hotel room where they had been awaiting the Giants/Correa press conference that was ultimately postponed, then canceled. And Cohen sounded thrilled upon agreement of the deal, telling The Post in the early morning hours of Dec. 21, “We needed one more thing, and this is it.”
