San Francisco Giants, Carlos Correa agree to 13-year, $350M deal

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The San Francisco Giants and Carlos Correa are close to an agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract, according to a source.

The source said that the deal does not include any opt-out. It gives the Giants their franchise player in Correa, who turned down $170 million from Houston last year, got $35.1 million in his year in Minnesota and now gets the most money ever for an infielder.

It's the fourth-largest contract by total value in MLB history, trailing just Mike Trout's $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels and Mookie Betts' $365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 13 years is the longest contract ever for a free agent.

Last year, when he entered the market in hopes of landing a $300 million-plus deal but ended up signing a shorter-term contract with the Minnesota Twins, the free agent path was much more circuitous. The market that lavished $300 million on Turner and $280 million on Bogaerts far more to his liking was what led to the second-biggest deal behind Judge's nine-year, $360 million contract with the New York Yankees.

In his one season with the Twins, Correa looked like his old self, as he hit.................... While he didn't match his Platinum Glove-winning 2021, Correa is considered one of the game's best defensive shortstops and posted his fourth season with five-plus wins above replacement.

The combination of the regular season and the playoffs convinced the Giants to make him one of the highest-earning players in baseball. Johnny Cueto got a six-year, $130 million deal with the Giants in December 2015.

After going to the Houston Astros with the top pick in the 2012 draft, excellence was pre-destined for him. He was a member of the Astros organization and won theRookie of the year. In his second season, Correa was one of the best players in baseball and he helped the Astros win their first World Series title, hitting five home runs and driving in 14 runs in 18 playoff games.

The Astros made it to the World Series in both of the last two years, with the help of a key player. The title was sullied when it was revealed that Houston had used a sign-stealing scheme during their championship season, and it was especially hard on Correa, who was outspoken in his defense of the team.

The excellence continued. He was one of the best players in the 2020 playoffs and went on to have a career postseason line of.272/.344/.500 with 18 home runs and 59 runs scored. After signing Carlos Correa to a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins, the Astros moved on from the infielder who was expected to reach the big leagues.

Over his final 120 games in Minnesota, he hit.307/.381/.496 with 21 home runs, becoming a leader in the locker room. The Twins were hoping he would come back but were aware his market would not be the same as it was in the past.

Over his eight-year career, Correa has compiled nearly 40 WAR -- only Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt have more in the same stretch -- and a career line of.279/.358/.479 with 155 He has a 12.6 defensive WAR, which is fourth in the league.

During his free agency, many executives wanted to know how long he would stay at the position. He was pegged as slightly above average by both the Outs Above Average and defensive runs saved metrics. Correa is one of the game's biggest shortstops and has played all of his career games in that position.

Whether the megadeal is a success depends on where the glove ends up. In the short term, it will help determine whether or not Correa makes the playoffs again or if he misses it for the first time in his career.