Giants have nowhere to turn after reported Correa-Mets deal originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
There are three key words every time a team reaches a contract agreement with a player: "Pending a physical."
The words are an afterthought for most, but not for the people who run front offices. When word of an agreement leaks -- and it almost always leaks -- fans and the media move on quickly, wondering how a new star fits in, what the next move will be, and even which number he will wear with his new team. But team executives don't exhale until the physical is complete, and only then do they finally feel it's safe to announce terms and schedule a press conference.
There are almost never hiccups, but over the past 48 hours, the Giants became a very unfortunate exception.
After a strange day filled mostly with deafening silence from all involved, Carlos Correa reportedly is headed from San Francisco for New York. A week after he agreed to terms on a 13-year, $350 million contract with the Giants, Correa will be a Met, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported late Tuesday night, this time for $315 million over 12 years.
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He reportedly will play third base for the Mets, and will not bump Francisco Lindor from shortstop.
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The Giants flagged something in Correa's physical, sources said earlier Tuesday, and that led to the deal falling apart. Mets owner Steve Cohen, the richest man in the sport, swooped in.
Cohen had reportedly tried to sign Correa after the Winter Meetings in San Diego but the Giants were already approaching the finish line, or so they thought. On Tuesday, he told Heyman, "We need one more thing, and this is it ... this puts us over the top."
It also leaves the Giants in a world of hurt, at least temporarily.
Team officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment and it's still unclear what the organization's doctors flagged as Correa took his physical in San Francisco on Monday. Sources said earlier this month that the Giants had concerns about Correa's previous back issues and some Giants officials remained worried even after he agreed to the long-term deal, but it's unclear if that is what ultimately scared the Giants off.
Regardless, the Giants are left without the superstar they had been chasing, and they have nowhere to turn in the coming days. After Correa temporarily agreed to a deal with the Giants, Carlos Rodón reportedly agreed to terms with the New York Yankees and Dansby Swanson, the last marquee position player available, reportedly reached a deal with the Chicago Cubs. The heavy lifting in free agency is just about done, and there are no obvious answers for a team that planned to go big this offseason and had committed $463 million to free agents once terms were agreed upon with Correa.
This was supposed to be one of the biggest winters in franchise history and it started with the hope that Aaron Judge would choose to come home. The Giants offered Judge $360 million but he stayed in New York, and on Wednesday he will be reintroduced at Yankee Stadium.
The Giants had planned to introduce Correa at 11 a.m. PT on Tuesday at Oracle Park, but about three hours earlier, the team put out a seven-word statement announcing the postponement. By the end of the day, Correa apparently had chosen a new home, and the Giants were left to pick up the pieces.
