At this point, the free agent market is barren, which is a testament to how much teams were willing to spend this offseason following COVID and the lockout. However, one marquee name has yet to find a home, despite agreeing to mega-contracts with two different teams  — Carlos Correa.
The Correa saga has been the most intriguing storyline of the offseason. He agreed in principle to a 13-year deal with the Giants, only for his physical to cause San Francisco to backpedal, which led to Correa pivoting to a 12-year contract with the Mets (yuck!). Like most Braves fans, that news made my stomach churn, but he still had to pass that tricky physical, something he once again failed.
It’s been over two weeks since Correa’s deal with the Mets was reported, and despite the failed physical, MLB insiders around the globe remained confident he would still eventually end up in New York… until now.
According to Jon Heyman, Correa has been in contact with another organization — a mystery team — for the first time since he agreed to the deal with the Mets.
Updated Correa story: Carlos’ camp in contact with at least one other team for the first time in 2 weeks as negotiations with the Mets regarding contract language are a bit stickyhttps://t.co/jhho6HaY2k
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 6, 2023
So who is this mystery team? And could there be multiple?
For starters, I want to bring up Heyman’s relationship with Boras. He’s basically his puppet. Boras feeds him what he wants the public to know, which would, in turn, put pressure on Steve Cohen to sign the papers. There’s a chance Boras hasn’t had serious conversations with any teams other than the Mets, but given how long this is taking to sort out, I believe Correa’s team is at least exploring all of their options.
I’ve heard that Correa’s camp has remained at least in touch with one other team. The New York Post reported on Thursday night that there could be two other teams beyond the Mets. It’s not known the level of interest from the potential suitors but it only makes sense for Boras to engage.
An obvious landing spot outside of New York, as Heyman mentions in his piece, is Minnesota. The Twins wanted him back and haven’t signed anyone that would prevent them from re-booting conversations. The Giants feel unlikely after what happened, and the Dodgers have already said they have no interest in Correa because of his part in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal.
Unfortunately, since I know most of you reading are Braves fans, this doesn’t mean the Braves have a chance at Correa. They aren’t going to hand a player that just failed two physicals the necessary contract he’s looking for. There’s very little chance the Braves sign Correa, and to make matters worse, I still think the Mets are the clear frontrunner. Cohen has endless pockets, which mitigates the risk. Even if Correa does suffer some type of career-ending injury halfway through his next contract, Cohen would be able to absorb the blow and keep spending freely, as he’s shown throughout this entire offseason.
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Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
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