Whither Carlos Correa? By Nick Fodera

Well, after a whirlwind offseason process that saw shortstop extraordinaire Carlos Correa’s megadeals with the Mets and the Giants fall through, we have a resolution. And it turns out he’ll be going…..in a big friggin’ circle, as he signs a six-year, $200,000,000 pact to return to whence he was last, the Minnesota Twins.

And so, the weirdest free agency period in recent memory ends sort of anticlimactically, but it is really about the journey, rather than the destination, right? Were I a Mets fan, I’d probably be steaming right now at owner Steve Cohen for failing to close the deal after talking up a storm about it just before Christmas, before anything was signed on the dotted line. However, while I (and the rest of the baseball world) did my fair share of clowning on the San Francisco Giants this offseason for the Arson Judge fiasco and walking away from bringing in Correa at the 11th hour, I can’t say I blame them or the Mets for getting cold feet about the issue of Correa’s apparently-could-later-become-serious ankle problem that scuttled both deals. A lot of money and years are being thrown around., and the only thing owners like more than money is risk-aversion to anything that may harm their investment.

I also don’t blame the Twins for bringing him back, nor do I blame Correa for accepting the more frontloaded deal that he did. He’s a big star, and big stars help teams stay relevant. The Twins will need every resource they can to battle the Guardians for the AL Central division this season, and Correa’s a very, very potent resource for them.

So what if the free agency arc of Carlos Correa more resembled a doughnut than a straight line on a map? Baseball needs big stars to get paid from whomever they can, and get paid they shall.