Boras breaks down Carlos Correa saga
The American Airlines flight landed at 9:41 last Wednesday night and Scott Boras walked off the plane at the Santa Ana (California) Airport, still weary after spending the day in Minneapolis, with the Carlos Correa saga coming to a merciful conclusion at Target Field.
Boras walked toward the baggage claim, saw the silver Rimowa suitcase come down the conveyor belt, grabbed it, walked to his car and had just pulled up to his home when his cellphone rang.
“Mr. Boras, this is American Airlines,” the person said. “We have your bag here.”
Boras: “No, I have my bag right here.” Boras, bewildered, reached for his suitcase.
Uh-oh.
He had the wrong luggage, picking up someone else’s that looked just like his.
Boras went back to the airport, exchanged suitcases, drove back home, got into his bed, and crashed.
When you negotiate $865 million worth of contracts alone for Correa alone over a 28-day span, enduring two failed physicals and a canceled press conference before winding up with a six-year, $200 million guarantee from the Minnesota Twins, who can blame a fella for a little mix-up?
Boras again was back at work at 5:30 the next morning, checking emails, making calls, and spending 2 1⁄2 hours on the phone with USA TODAY Sports, talking about one of the wildest winters of his career, resulting in $1.1 billion worth of free agent contracts.
“It’s been quite the ride,” Boras says, “to say the least.”
While certainly pleased with the winter results, Boras still fumes how one physician’s opinion can turn Correa’s 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants to a 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets to a six-year, $200 million contract with the Twins.
The Giants’ deal collapsed only after consulting with orthopedic specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, who expressed concerns about the fragility of Correa’s right ankle that required surgery in 2014. Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations, said the deal was off. Boras summoned Correa to his hotel room to break the news, leaving Correa in disbelief.
Boras retreated to his room and within an hour was on the phone with Mets owner Steve Cohen. Just 15 hours later, they had a deal.
Correa and his family members, who had even spent a day house-hunting in San Francisco before the scheduled press conference, tackled Boras in excitement in his room. The Correa family flew home to Houston, and then were off to New York on Cohen’s private plane for a physical to make it official.
Correa took his physical, and two days later the Mets balked too. Yes, they had also consulted with Anderson, who advised against a long-term contract, leaving Boras absolutely seething.
“I don’t understand the Mets,” Boras said. “I gave them all of the information. We had them talk to four doctors. They knew the issue the Giants had. And yet they still call the same doctor the Giants used for his opinion. There was no new information. So why negotiate a contract if you were going to rely on the same doctor?
“It was different with the Giants because a doctor had an opinion they didn’t know about. But the Mets had notice of this. They knew the opinion of the Giants. So why did you negotiate when you know this thing in advance?”
The Giants never engaged in negotiations again with Boras but the Mets still wanted to work out a revised deal, with Boras and Correa remaining confident they could still reach a resolution.
Boras offered contract language that would protect the Mets. If Correa’s previous right ankle injury caused him to miss more than 60 days, the Mets could reduce the contract. If he spent more than 120 days on the injured list over a two-year period, they could void the contract. If he finished a season on the injured list, the Mets would have the right to give him a physical to determine if they wanted to part ways.
The Mets instead wanted to slash their original agreement in half. The Mets would guarantee $157.5 million for the first six years, with club options for the next six years that would pay him another $157.5 million. But it would also require Correa to have a complete physical after every season in which the Mets could terminate the remaining six years of the contract.
“I said (to the Mets lawyers), ‘You’re now putting the contract at risk,’ ” Boras said. “I’ve got to cover your risk by your deferral. You can’t have everything. You can’t defer the contract, save $100 million on the CBT taxes, and have him take all of the risk at the back of the contract that’s not guaranteed.”
The stalemate went on for two weeks when Boras and Correa realized the Mets weren’t going to budge. Even if the Mets picked up the first two club option years at $26.5 million a year, the backloaded contract would pay him $210 million over the first eight years – keeping the annual average salary at $26.5 million.
Derek Falvey, the Twins executive vice president and chief baseball officer, kept checking in with Boras throughout the process. He realized the longer there was an impasse, the better chance the Twins could re-engage in negotiations.
The Twins’ final offer to Correa before he initially agreed with the Giants was a 10-year, $280 million contract (not the widely reported $285 million). They began negotiating again the weekend of Jan. 6-8, and this time had leverage.
They began intensive talks on Monday morning, Jan. 9, and agreed to a sixyear, $200 million contract at 8 p.m. The contract, with four club options, could turn into a 10-year, $270 million deal if the Twins pick up the option years, or become automatically vested if Correa basically stays healthy and finishes in the top five of the American League MVP race, wins a Silver Slugger award or wins the World Series or AL championship series MVP award. The six-year guarantee pays Correa an average salary of $33.34 million, the second largest by a shortstop.
Correa is earning $42.5 million more in the first six years of the Twins contract than he would have if he had taken the Mets’ offer. If the contract extended to eight years, the Twins were still paying $35 million more than the Mets. The Mets’ salary advantage wouldn’t have started until 2031 when Correa will be paid $15 million and $10 million in 2032 by the Twins. The Mets were paying $115 million the final four years in the club options.
“I think this is a better deal for him because of the structure of the contract,” Boras said. “The likelihood of playing 12 years (without injury) was unforeseen. It wasn’t a favorable deal unless he had solid guarantee language. This contract is better because of the probability. There’s far more presentvalue.”
And, oh, by the way, there are no optouts in the entirety of the contract.
“Look,” Boras said, laughing, “we never want to go through anything like this again.”
Boras was confident Correa would have no problems with the Twins’ physical considering he already had three exams last year by their doctors. They wouldn’t have sent a private plane to pick up Correa’s extended family from Houston, putting everyone up at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Minneapolis, and taking everyone out to a five-hour dinner on Tuesday night at the 112 Eatery. Still, it wasn’t until Wednesday morning when the Twins called Boras, telling him the deal was official, that he could finally exhale.
“It was like a 100-pound weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Boras said. “I called up Carlos, and I didn’t even say hello. All I said was, ‘It’s done.’ ” Correa’s reaction: “Fantastic.” “When Carlos put that uniform on at the press conference,” Boras said, “there was finally, finality. It was for real.” The saga was over.
“This was so hard emotionally because you’re sitting in front of a player, his wife, his parents, her parents,” Boras said, “and you have to share disappointment, not once, but twice. It was really, really stressful for Carlos and his family.
“But in the end, seeing how happy he was and how excited the Twins are, maybe this was the way it was meant to be all along.”
While the Correa theater dominated the headlines, Boras had 13 free agent players who signed major league deals totaling $1.1 billion. It’s the third time Boras and his staff – including 30 researchers, eight trainers, six negotiators, five lawyers and two medical review members – eclipsed $1 billion worth of deals in a single offseason.