{"id":164858,"date":"2022-12-22T04:02:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T04:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bowden-carlos-correa-deal-gone-wrong-highlights-mlb-front-offices-free-agency-high-wire-act\/"},"modified":"2022-12-22T04:02:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T04:02:07","slug":"bowden-carlos-correa-deal-gone-wrong-highlights-mlb-front-offices-free-agency-high-wire-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bowden-carlos-correa-deal-gone-wrong-highlights-mlb-front-offices-free-agency-high-wire-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Bowden: Carlos Correa deal-gone-wrong highlights MLB front offices’ free-agency high-wire act"},"content":{"rendered":"
Carlos Correa was the Giants’ next face of the franchise, until he wasn’t, after a disagreement arose over his medical results. He is now \u2014 somehow \u2014 a member of the Mets, who are now arguably, on paper, the best team in the National League, after they agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract with the star shortstop \u2026 pending a physical.<\/p>\n
Those last few words are at the heart of the most stunning development of this MLB offseason. As details emerge about why the Giants’ record-breaking deal with Correa \u2014 what had been the largest contract ever awarded to a shortstop \u2014 fell apart, I thought it would be instructive to discuss in general how teams rely on medical reports in the course of signing a free agent.<\/p>\n
First, it’s important to make clear the basic progression of most signings. When a team reaches an agreement with a free agent and his representative, the parties first agree on the contract length and amount \u2014 the years and dollars. Then, they agree on any opt-out clauses, option years, incentives and award bonuses.<\/p>\n
Next, they agree on the guarantee language, which is a detailed legal document that includes all kinds of specific terms and conditions. Both sides have input into what’s included, and in a major deal for a free agent such as Correa, the document could be 50 to 100 pages. Each deal is different, but every team and agent has language they like to include. For example, a team might say a player isn’t allowed to go surfing or ride a motorcycle, etc.<\/p>\n
With the above agreement framework in place, a team will always make sure the deal is pending a physical and\/or a review of the medical records. Teams obviously don’t want to agree to a contract and later find out there were serious medical concerns about the player that should have been considered. There’s risk with any deal, but teams need to make informed decisions with as much information as possible or they might get stuck with millions of dollars of dead money on their books, which can hinder an organization for years.<\/p>\n
If a team uncovers a medical issue during this process, it can decide to (1) go ahead with the original deal, (2) move on from the player completely, or (3) raise the issue with the player’s camp and try to negotiate better terms for a new deal. However, in the latter case, the team has nixed the initial deal, and the player is free to resume talks with other teams, which is what Correa did with the Mets in this instance.<\/p>\n