The Bay Area will have to wait to meet its $350 million man.
At 8:15 a.m. PT, The Giants sent out an email announcing they have postponed a scheduled 11 a.m. press conference Tuesday to introduce prized free agent shortstop Carlos Correa. A new time for the press conference has not been shared with the media.
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Correa is awaiting test results before he can be cleared.
Later in the day, the Associated Press's Ronald Blum reported that a medical issue popped up during Correa's physical Monday.
"One person confirmed that Tuesday's conference to welcome Correa was put on hold because the sides were awaiting the results of testing," Blum wrote. "A second person said that a medical issue was flagged during Correa's physical."
Slusser added further context, reporting that the concern isn't related to his back, which caused him to miss time in 2018-19.
Correa and the Giants reportedly agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract on Dec. 13, but no formal announcement had been made. The Giants touted Tuesday's press conference as "Giants executives to hold press availability," without naming Correa, but he was expected to get his Giants jersey, say some nice things about San Francisco and get a photo op.
Giants fans are eager to see Correa seal the deal after the team fell short in negotiations for stars like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton in recent years. With Correa's expected deal, San Francisco has spent $443.5 million in free agency, third-most in MLB behind the New York Yankees ($573.5 million) and New York Mets ($476.7 million).
Correa is 28 and in the prime of his career, with a World Series ring, two All-Star appearances and a 2021 Gold Glove. Longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford told The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly that he is reluctantly prepared to move to another position to accommodate Correa.
It sounds like Correa's name isn't on the dotted line quite yet, so we'll have to see when the Giants reschedule his press conference. A bit unusual for the postponement, sure, but given Slusser's reporting, I think it's a bit premature for Giants fans to worry about a worst-case scenario, which would derail the deal.
