Carlos Correa, Giants Agree to Record Infielder Contract

Last offseason, Carlos Correa made the bizarre decision to sign an unconventional contract with the middling Minnesota Twins — a franchise that generally isn’t a big spender and hasn’t won a playoff series since 2002.

The 28-year-old opted out of that deal after the 2022 season — and now he’s signed a massive long-term deal with a perennial contender.

Late Tuesday, Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants that contains a full no-trade clause and no opt-out, per multiple reports.

The total value for the contract would be the largest for a shortstop — or infielder — in MLB history, surpassing Francisco Lindor’s 10-year, $341 million deal signed in 2021.

Of course, the appeal of Correa’s lengthy contract, which will expire when he’s 41 years old, is the dampened average annual value: The pact’s $26.9 million AAV ranks just 21st in the league.

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| by Doug Greenberg and Owen Poindexter

The MLB Free Agent Market Recalibrates

MLB teams have already shelled out $2.3 billion in contracts this offseason.

December 11, 2022

It’s another savvy move from the Giants, whose Opening Day luxury tax payroll projects to be $206 million — still below the first luxury tax threshold of $230 million despite a bevy of moves this offseason.

• Starting pitchers Ross Stripling and Sean Manea each agreed to identical two-year, $25 million deals with a player option after the 2023 season.
• Outfielder Joc Pederson accepted a $19.65 million qualifying offer from the team in November.

It’s also another feather in the cap of Correa’s agent, Scott Boras — who had negotiated $3.83 billion worth of active contracts in North American sports as of mid-November, earning him an estimated $191 million in commissions, per Forbes.

With most of MLB’s free agency big contracts now signed, the attention turns to the next potential big one.

After giving Mike Trout $426.5 million in 2019, the Angels will have the opportunity to break their own record and give Shohei Ohtani the largest contract in MLB history — and potentially the largest in North American sports history if it surpasses Patrick Mahomes’ $450 million deal.