Source: SS Correa to Giants at 13 years, $350 million

Shortstop Carlos Correa and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a 13-year, $350 million contract, a record deal that was the richest ever for the position and gave the team the type of players the franchise plans to build, sources familiar with the situation have told ESPN.

Correa’s free agent path, 28, was far less convoluted than last year, when he entered the market hoping to land a deal in excess of $300 million, but ended up signing a short-term contract with the Minnesota Twins that included an opt-out after the first season. This offseason, Correa found a market spending $300 million for Trea Turner and $280 million for Xander Bogaerts much to his liking, and he completed the second-biggest deal, behind Aaron Judge’s $360 million nine-year contract with the New York Yankees.

The 13-year-old signed Bryce Harper’s $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in March 2019, and like Harper, Correa accepted a full no-trade clause and no-exit option contract, sources said.

The $350 million exceeded the $341 million shortstop Francisco Lindor earned from the New York Mets and the $340 million for shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. with the San Diego Padres. And in baseball history, only Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, Mookie Betts’ $365 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Judge exceeded their value.

Roughly a year after turning down a five-year, $160 million contract with the Houston Astros, with whom Correa developed into a star, he was earning more than double that from a season spent with the Twins, with whom he made $35.1 million before opting out. of the last two years of his contract. In his one season with Minnesota, Correa looked like his old self, hitting .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI in 136 games. Although he didn’t equal the 2021 Platinum Glove-winning campaign, Correa is considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, posting his fourth season with 5.0-plus wins over replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

The Giants paid him like a superstar, because Correa’s combination of position, age, and productivity — regular season and postseason — convinced them to make him one of the highest-earning players in baseball. Prior to Correa, the last player the Giants signed for more than $100 million was pitcher Johnny Cueto, who accepted a six-year, $130 million contract in December 2015.

At baseball’s winter congress, the Giants hoped to strike a deal for Judge, the reigning American League MVP. But the Yankees upped their bid to $40 million a year, and Judge agreed to stay in New York. With Turner and Bogaerts off the board as well, the opportunity to sign a base player has dwindled to Correa and former Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Since the retirement of catcher Buster Posey after the 2021 season, the Giants have been looking for a star to make a fresh start, looking beyond the glory years of the early 2010s, when San Francisco won three World Series, and before that, when Barry Bonds dazzled box-office crowds every year. night. Correa has the composure and the ability to be that way.

The lead was doomed after he went to the Astros with the No. 1 overall pick. 1 in the 2012 draft. He broke through the organization and debuted at age 20 in 2015, winning the AL Rookie of the Year. In his sophomore season, Correa was one of baseball’s greatest players. And in 2017, he helped the Astros win their first World Series title, hitting five home runs and driving in 14 runs in 18 postseason games.

The Astros reached the AL Championship Series in 2018 and the World Series in 2019, with Correa as the cornerstone of their success. But the November 2019 revelation that Houston had used a tag-stealing scheme during their championship season tarnished the title and landed very hard on Correa, who has been outspoken in defending the team.

Correa’s lead continues. He was one of the best players in the 2020 postseason and is back in good form in 2021, pushing his career postseason streak to .272/.344/.505 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI in 79 games. However, with shortstop Jeremy Pena’s prospects of reaching the big leagues, Houston moved on from Correa, whose free agent market never materialized after an early fling with the Detroit Tigers and led to him signing a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins. .

With Minnesota, Correa quickly became the clubhouse leader, and over his last 120 games, he’s been . 307/. 381/. 496 with 21 home runs. The Twins had hoped he would return but realized the market would not be as busted as it was after 2021.

Over his eight-year career, Correa has amassed nearly 40 rWAR — only Trout, Betts, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Manny Machado have more rWAR — and a career streak of .279/0.357/0.479 with 155 home runs and 553 RBI in 888 matches. His 12.6 defensive WAR ranks fourth, behind Andrelton Simmons, Kevin Kiermaier and Arenado.

How long Correa lasted at shortstop was a question several executives raised during his free agency. His above-average out metrics put him in the bottom 20% of shortstops last season, while his defensive runs saved him slightly above average. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Correa is one of the biggest games at shortstop, where he has played all 881 of his career games on the field.

Wherever Correa’s gloves end up, his bat will determine whether the megadeal is a success. And in the short term, it will help determine whether Correa reaches the postseason again — this time with a Giants team that won the National League West in 2021 but finished 81-81 this year — or, for the first time in his career. , missed it in successive seasons.