I’m trying to think of a parallel to the Carlos Correa-Giants debacle, but can’t.
Recency bias has me comparing this to Brazil’s recent loss to Croatia in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Brazil were the Giants, looking like they had the game won when Neymar (aka Farhan Zaidi) scored a precious goal in extra time (Carlos Correa’s deal). Only Croatia (the New York Mets) swooped in at the 11th hour with an equalizer and sealed the deal in a thrilling shocker. The Giants forgot to send out their goalkeeper for the penalty shootout, though, as they reportedly went dark on communications with Correa’s agent Scott Boras all day Tuesday, when they postponed his introductory press conference.
Brazil lost in the quarterfinals. This wasn’t even the NLDS, but it sure stings like a World Series-level loss for the Giants.
Whatever scared the Giants from signing Correa to a 13-year, $350 million deal, didn’t frighten big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen, who is doing his best Joe Lacob impression in baseball and blasting right by the Competitive Balance Tax guard rails. Now the Mets have a 12-year, $315 million pact.
Maybe Brazil will win a World Cup in their next three tries, but the Giants will never have a chance at 28-year-old Carlos Correa again.
Hell, the Giants can’t even get their hands on 28-year-old Dansby Swanson. On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs introduced their new shortstop, who signed on for seven years, $177 million in the midst of Correa’s ephemeral tenure with the Giants. That’s about half the time and money of the Giants offer, who maybe got cold feet and felt like they overspent once they saw his financials.
Swanson (career 95 OPS+) isn’t close to the hitter that Correa (career 129 OPS+) is, but the former Braves shortstop still slashed .277/.329/.447 last year while hitting more homers (25) and driving in more runs (96) than Correa in 2022. And he won a Gold Glove. And he’s only missed one game the past three seasons. Swanson would have been a nice consolation prize for Correa, in an offseason where the Giants have had plenty.
Instead of Aaron Judge, they got Mitch Haniger. Instead of Carlos Rodón, they got Sean Manaea. Instead of Kodai Senga, they got Ross Stripling. Instead of Correa, they have to tell Brandon Crawford, ‘Just kidding!’
This offseason has been a comedy of errors for the Giants front office and ownership. Giants fans are accustomed to “torture” but this offseason has been gut-wrenching. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse than the Arson Judge tweet-and-delete fiasco, the Mets had to come in with a deal like midnight marauders. The Giants hastily postponed (er, canceled) Correa's introductory press conference and went silent. Yikes.
The failure to sign Correa will have an undeniable ripple effect in 2023, as the Giants look stuck in no-man’s land after this year’s .500 finish.
The Giants have made it known that they think 36-year-old Crawford is replaceable, albeit for a superstar like Correa. Crawford told The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly he was reluctantly preparing for a position switch to third base, so he’ll be happy to stay at shortstop, where he’s been the everyday guy since the end of 2011. Still, it’s gotta be a little awkward for the franchise cornerstone, knowing his employer is ready to move on.
Beyond that, how does this impact the Giants efforts to lure free agents next winter, when megastar Shohei Ohtani could be available? Will other stars be worried that the Giants will pull out the rug at the 11th hour of negotiations under the guise of pre-MLB injuries? It's a bad look for the Giants brass.
According to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic, the Giants were concerned about a 2014 fibula fracture that Correa sustained as a 19-year-old in High-A. Really? That was enough to can a franchise deal eight years later?
The Giants find themselves in a self-created cauldron steamed by high-expectations and lofty statements, like when Zaidi proclaimed in November, “From a financial standpoint, there's nobody that would be out of our capability to meet what we expect contract demands to be.”
Now they’re left with a so-so roster after spending $93.5 million on Haniger, Stripling and Manaea, and a steaming fan base clamoring for answers. Farhan and CEO Larry Baer should have some interesting explanations the next time they’re in front of the microphone, and they better hang on more than an eight-year-old injury from Correa.
Most of all, the days of sellout streaks at McCovey Cove are long gone, and the franchise has their work cut out to get fans back in the seats. The millions of dollars from Correa memorabilia gone in a poof. But as they say, scared money don't make money.
