Carlos Correa signs 6-year, $200 million deal with the Twins

Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins are finalizing a six year, $200 million contract with four vesting options that can get the deal to 11 years, $270 million, according to multiple sources. The deal is pending a physical.

That last sentence is usually an obligatory statement at the end of a free-agent announcement, but in Correa’s case, it is a substantial piece of information. In case you’ve been in a medically induced coma for the past month or so, Correa had a 13 year, $350 million deal with the Giants that fell through at the last minute due to some concerns over Correa’s physical, specifically an ankle injury sustained before his Major League call up that has never placed him on the Injured List during his big league career.

When that deal was in question, Mets’ owner Steve Cohen and Correa’s agent Scott Boras spoke on the phone and there was a reported 12 year, $315 million deal on the table, pending a physical.

Even with the Mets knowing going into the physical that there was enough there for San Francisco to balk at the deal, the physical was still alarming enough to cause the Mets to not make the deal official either. After a long, protracted negotiation, reports came out last night that the Mets deal was in jeopardy and the Twins were refocused on bringing back Correa.

Jon Heyman is reporting that the ‘major’ part of the physical is already completed.

This is, obviously, a disappointing note in what has been a fabulous offseason for the Mets. Whether or not the injury hampers Correa’s career or if the Mets’ diligence will prove to be overkill will play out over time. I’m sure we haven’t heard the end of this conversation.

Update: Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets guaranteed six years at 157.5 million, and the following six would be only ‘conditionally guaranteed.’