Source: SS Correa to Giants at 13 years, $350M
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Jeff PassanESPN
Shortstop Carlos Correa and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract, a source familiar with the deal told ESPN.
The deal comes with a full no-trade clause but does not include any opt-outs, the source said. It gives the Giants their franchise player in Correa, who turned down $160 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, Mookie Betts‘ $365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge‘s $360 million with the New York Yankees. 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.
The free agent path of Correa, 28, was far less circuitous than last year, when he entered the market in hopes of landing a $300 million-plus deal but wound up signing a shorter-term contract with the Minnesota Twins that included an opt-out after the first season. This winter, Correa found a market that lavished $300 million on Trea Turner and $280 million on Xander Bogaerts far more to his liking and wound up with the second-biggest deal behind Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract with the New York Yankees.
In his one season with the Twins, Correa looked like his vintage self, hitting .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 136 games. While he didn’t match his Platinum Glove-winning 2021, Correa is regarded among the game’s best defensive shortstops and posted his fourth season with five-plus Wins Above Replacement.
The Giants paid him like a superstar, as the combination of Correa’s position, age and productivity — regular season and postseason — convinced them to make him among the highest-earning players in baseball. Before Correa, the last player the Giants signed to a $100 million contract was pitcher Johnny Cueto, who got a six-year, $130 million deal in December 2015.
Excellence was predestined for Correa after he went to the Houston Astros with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He shot through the Astros organization and debuted at 20 years old in 2015, winning Rookie of the Year. By his second season, Correa was one of the best players in baseball and, in 2017, he helped the Astros win their first World Series title, hitting five home runs and driving in 14 runs in 18 postseason games.
The Astros reached the American League Championship Series in 2018 and the World Series in 2019, with Correa a foundational player for their success. But the revelation in November 2019 that Houston had used a sign-stealing scheme during their championship season sullied the title and landed especially hard on Correa, who was outspoken in his defense of the team.
Correa’s excellence continued unabated. He was among the best players in the 2020 postseason and again played well in 2021, pushing his career postseason line to .272/.344/.505 with 18 home runs and 59 RBIs in 79 games. With shortstop prospect Jeremy Pena primed to reach the big leagues, though, Houston moved on from Correa, whose free agent market never materialized after an early dalliance with Detroit and led to him signing a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins, for which he was paid $35.1 million in 2022.
In Minnesota, Correa quickly became a clubhouse leader, and over his final 120 games, he hit .307/.381/.496 with 21 home runs. The Twins hoped he would return but recognized his market would be unlikely to break the same way it did following 2021.
Over his eight-year career, Correa has compiled nearly 40 WAR — only Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Manny Machado have more in the same stretch — and a career line of .279/.357/.479 with 155 home runs and 553 RBIs in 888 games. His 12.6 defensive WAR rank fourth, behind Andrelton Simmons, Kevin Kiermaier and Arenado.
Just how long Correa stays at shortstop is a question multiple executives posited during his free agency. The Outs Above Average metric placed him in the bottom 20% of shortstops this season while Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as slightly above average. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Correa is among the game’s biggest shortstops, where he has played all 881 of his career games in the field.
Regardless of where Correa’s glove winds up, his bat will determine whether the megadeal is a success. And in the short-term, it will help determine whether Correa again reaches the postseason or, for the first time in his career, misses it in consecutive seasons.
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs and free agent Colin Rea have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract, reuniting the right-hander with manager Craig Counsell, a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers on Friday.
The 34-year-old Rea made one appearance with Milwaukee in 2021 and then pitched in Japan during the 2022 season before returning to the Brewers. He went 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA over 27 starts and five relief appearances for the NL Central champions last year.
Counsell managed Milwaukee for nine years before he was hired by Chicago in November 2023.
Rea gives Counsell and Chicago another versatile arm for their pitching staff. The Cubs have Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd for their rotation, but Rea could push Javier Assad for the fifth spot or work out of the bullpen.
Rea became a free agent when Milwaukee declined its $5.5 million club option on his contract in November. The Iowa native was paid a $1 million buyout.
Rea was selected by San Diego in the 12th round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Indiana State. He made his big league debut with the Padres in 2015.
He pitched for the Cubs during the 2020 season, going 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in nine appearances, including two starts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has banned two fans who interfered with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts during a World Series game at Yankee Stadium from attending games at big league ballparks.
The league sent a letter to Austin Capobianco and John P. Hansen this week informing them of the decision.
“On Oct. 29, 2024, during Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, you interfered with play by intentionally and forcefully grabbing a player. Your conduct posed a serious risk to the health and safety of the player and went far over the line of acceptable fan behavior,” said the letter, the contents of which were first reported by the New York Post and later obtained by The Associated Press.
“Based on your conduct, Major League Baseball is banning you indefinitely from all MLB stadiums, offices, and other facilities,” the letter said. “You are also hereby banned indefinitely from attending any events sponsored by or associated with MLB. Please be advised that if you are discovered at any MLB property or event, you will be removed from the premises and subject to arrest for trespass.”
MLB has previously issued leaguewide bans for fans who trespass on the field or threaten baseball personnel. A fan who approached Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. at Colorado’s Coors Field in 2023 received a similar ban.
Capobianco and Hansen were ejected from the game on Oct. 29 and banned from Game 5 the following night.
Betts leaped at the retaining wall in foul territory and caught Gleyber Torres‘ pop fly in the first inning, but a fan in the first row with a gray Yankees road jersey grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan grabbed Betts’ bare hand.
The Yankees at the time called the behavior “egregious and unacceptable.”
The team said Friday the two fans MLB banned were not season-ticket holders. The Post reported Friday that the person who is the season ticket holder was not at the game and will be allowed to keep them.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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