Reports: Carlos Correa, Giants reach $350M, 13-year deal

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer

Star shortstop Carlos Correa and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $350 million, 13-year contract, according to multiple reports.

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on Tuesday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

Correa also was a free agent one year ago after leaving the Houston Astros, and he reached a $105.3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins. That agreement gave him the right to opt out after one year and $35.1 million to hit the market again. This deal – the most ever for an infielder – comes with a full no-trade clause but does not include any opt-outs, according to an ESPN report.

And the 28-year-old Correa indeed moved once more, this time to a Giants team that recently missed out in its bid to sign free agent Aaron Judge.

Correa’s guarantee will be the fourth-largest in baseball history. Mike Trout got a $426.5 million, 12-year contract with the Angels, Mookie Betts has a $365 million, 12-year agreement with the Dodgers and Judge, the new AL home run champ and MVP, is getting $360 million for nine years to remain with the New York Yankees pending a physical. The 13 years matches the longest contract ever for a free agent, tying Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Correa – who some had speculated would end up with the Dodgers – was one of the headliners in a stellar group of free agent shortstops that also included former Dodger Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson – Swanson is the only one in that group still available.

Correa got the latest big-money deal in a spending spree during the first offseason of baseball’s new labor contract.

Philadelphia signed Turner for $300 million over 11 years, San Diego got Bogaerts for $280 million over 11 years, Texas signed pitcher Jacob deGrom for $185 million over five years and the New York Mets retained outfielder Brandon Nimmo for $162 million for eight years.

Correa hit .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in his one season with Minnesota.

Brandon Crawford, a three-time All-Star, has been the Giants’ shortstop since 2011. Crawford, who turns 36 next month, slumped to a .231 batting average with nine homers and 52 RBIs last season, down from a .298 average with 24 homers and 90 RBIs in 2021.

Crawford has a $16 million salary in 2023, then can become a free agent. He has dealt with injuries in recent seasons and might consider retirement at the conclusion of his deal, so the Giants were searching for a shortstop of the future.

The Giants went 81-81 last season, a year after posting a franchise-record 107 wins.

Correa was selected by Houston with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft, and he played a key role in the Astros’ rise from the bottom of the AL West to the franchise’s first World Series title in 2017.

He hit a career-best 26 homers in 2021 in his last year with Houston, also finishing with a .279 batting average and 92 RBIs. He earned his second All-Star selection and first Gold Glove. He is regarded as one of the game’s better defensive shortstops and posted his fourth season with 5-plus wins above replacement.

Just last weekend, Correa joined many of his former Astros teammates in Las Vegas for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.