As Carlos Correa slipped a newly designed Minnesota Twins jersey around his shoulders Wednesday, he uttered the words that could have ended his free agent saga a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are clean,\u201d he said of the fresh gear.<\/p>\n
Of course, had doctors for the San Francisco Giants or New York Mets said the same about MRI results before finalizing commitments of greater than $300 million last month, Correa would not have been back at Target Field. Instead, a decade-old ankle fracture that gave examining orthopedists pause scuttled agreements of $350 million over 15 years (from the Giants) and $315 million over 12 (from the Mets), sending he and agent Scott Boras on an unprecedented free agent hunt for a nine-figure contract and, most of all, a belief.<\/p>\n
That Correa was healthy. That his surgically repaired right ankle would remain intact through the life of a decade-long commitment. And that even if the 28-year-old shortstop eventually encountered health woes, the remaining peak years of his career would be worth any risk on the back end.<\/p>\n
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He found that belief in the same place he departed, albeit for $150 million less than the Giants promised. But Correa’s guaranteed six-year, $200 million deal \u2013 that can grow to $270 million over 10 years by meeting plate appearance plateaus \u2013 is an outcome that belies an unprecedented process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journeys are not always linear,\u201d says Derek Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball operations who signed Correa to a short-term deal in March 2022, kept in contact with his camp all winter and then, suddenly, provided a comfortable fallback option.<\/p>\n