Last night, the San Francisco Giants finally managed to get their hands on the services of Carlos Correa. He signed a 13-year contract valued at $350 million.
For the San Francisco club, it’s a huge blow. After all, he was clearly looking for a star this winter and even though the #1 option (Aaron Judge) opted to stay home, Correa is a nasty good consolation prize.
The former Astros and Twins player becomes Brandon Crawford’s successor in San Francisco (the club’s longtime shortstop has one year left on his contract) and will become the face of the franchise.
Inevitably, Dansby Swanson becomes even more in demand, he who is the last big name at shortstop this year. And as next year’s vintage will be very thin.
What many people have noted is that Correa will make just under $27 million a year playing in a state (California) where the tax rate is high.
Last year, in Minnesota, he made $35.1 million and before signing with the Twins, he was offered $32 million per year (over five years) by the Astros.
But that’s not how it should be seen since Correa has well and truly won his bet – in addition to sickening Dodgers fans for another 13 years.
In fact, he received a contract that will lead him to retirement (he will be 41 at the end of his contract)… but above all, Scott Boras found him the fourth biggest contract in history and the second most big for a free agent. Only Aaron Judge has done better.
If he had taken the Twins’ offer, he would have made $65 million less. Would he have been able, at 38, to sign a $65 million contract to make up the difference?
Not necessarily, no.
Let’s go even further. Turning down the Astros’ five-year, $160 million contract a year ago turned that into 14 years and $385.1 million, if you include his year in Minnesota and his 13 years in SF.
Remember that last winter, the biggest offer on his table was $275 million over 10 years from the Detroit Tigers. That’s not how he would have become the shortstop with the biggest contract in MLB history.
We talk a lot about the bet of Aaron Judge, who transformed $213.5 million into $360 million, but Carlos Correa also bet on himself via a one-year contract with the Twins.
Results? He found himself as free as the air in a disproportionate autonomy market.
He passed GO and claimed $350 million. Now all he has to do is bring the World Series back to San Francisco in the next few years, having missed out on a second ring when he left the Astros last year.
And with 13 years of contract, which is pretty crazy, he will have time to establish the culture he wants there.
- Beautiful signature of the Royals.
- Rafael Devers must be salivating.
