The spending spree in MLB has continued this week with another record-setting free agent signing. According to multiple reports, All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa signed a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. The deal is the biggest ever given to a shortstop.
Correa’s new deal is now the fourth-richest in the history of the league, trailing the ones given to Mike Trout ($426.5 million) Mookie Betts ($365 million), and Aaron Judge ($360 million). The contract reportedly comes with a no-trade clause and has no opt-outs.
This was the second-straight year Carlos Correa entered the free agency. He first became a free agent after an All-Star campaign in 2021 with the Houston Astros but failed to get a long-term offer he liked. He then decided to do a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins that had opt-outs after each year.
Correa’s gamble paid off, as he ended up hitting .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2022. He also added a league-leading .983 fielding percentage to the mix, making it a certainty that he’ll have a better market if he tries the free agency again.
This offseason proved to be quite generous to shortstops, with Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts signing big-time deals of their own earlier this month. Correa remained patient and ended up getting the best deal of them all.
The Giants had the money to spend and first pursued Judge before he re-signed with the NY Yankees. They quickly turned to Correa after that, feeling that he could be a franchise cornerstone for them and someone they could build a championship-contending team around. The time will tell if that is the case, but baseball fans in San Francisco have no reason not to feel good about their future.
