New York Mets final contract offer to Carlos Correa revealed, and it’s a weird one

To their credit, the New York Mets and owner Steve Cohen went down swinging trying to sign Carlos Correa.

Correa had agreed to a $315 million deal with the Mets back in December after his deal with the San Francisco Giants fell through. Concerns over Correa’s leg have been well documented in the interim, with Mets team doctors also flagging his physical and holding up a deal that would have brought him to Queens.

Do unto others is something the Mets clearly didn’t consider when they swooped in to steal him away from the Giants, as the Minnesota Twins did the same thing on Tuesday. With Correa’s deal with the Mets needing to be re-worked to Steve Cohen’s liking, Scott Boras called an audible — and the Twins — and worked out a deal to reunite Correa in Minnesota.

Correa agreed to a six year, $200 million contract with the Twins that will become official when he passes his physical or the team decides it doesn’t care what his medicals are. Both outcomes are likely the same one, to be honest.

But despite losing Correa to the Twins, Cohen and the Mets didn’t give up without a fight.

Steve Cohen and the Mets offered a strange final contract offer to Carlos Correa

According to Bob Nightengale, the Mets final offer to Correa was north of what the Twins offered but included some serious guaranteed money. It appears the deal would have been phased, with six years of guaranteed money, but milestones in Year 8 and Year 12 totaling the original $315 million offer.

MLB reporter Michael Marino notes that the Mets included a clause that would have required Correa to take a physical every season or risk his contract being voided. If Correa refused to take a physical ahead of Opening Day, or failed it, the Mets had a built-in out to escape the deal and not have to pay Correa.

This is something Jon Heyman from the New York Post seemingly confirmed later.

In addition to the lower contract offer, that clause seems to be a big reason why Scott Boras pointed his client in Minnesota’s direction.

Of course, the total contract offer for Correa was larger than what he settled on with the Twins. That seems to suggest that something got in the way, which lends credit to the idea that the bizarre clause about yearly physicals was included in the deal.