Carlos Correa agrees to record 13-year, $350 million contract with Giants after prove-it deal

Carlos Correa has found a long-term home. The superstar shortstop has reportedly agreed to a whopping 13-year, $350 million deal with San Francisco Giants.

The reported terms would make this the largest deal in Giants history, the largest amount of money ever committed to a shortstop and the most a team has ever paid for an outside free agent. In the history of MLB, only Mike Trout ($426.5 million), Mookie Betts ($365 million) and Aaron Judge ($360 million) have been guaranteed more in a contract.

Correa would be 41 when the deal ends.

A leading member of the Houston Astros core that both won the 2017 World Series and tarnished the team's legacy with an illegal sign-stealing scheme, Correa originally reached free agency during last winter's lockout-interrupted bonanza. Not finding a long-term deal to his liking, he shocked the baseball world by accepting a three-year, $105 million offer from the Minnesota Twins that allowed him to opt out this winter and join another loaded shortstop class alongside Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.

In the meantime, Correa posted another strong season — batting .291 with 22 homers and a 140 OPS+ across 136 games, tops among the shortstop stars on the market — and earned rave reviews for the winning focus he brought to the Twins organization. "He has the highest standard of excellence," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told Yahoo Sports' Hannah Keyser. "You can't expect more out of yourself and out of your group than he does. And it rubs off on everyone, it even rubs off on me."

As potential franchise shortstops go, it’s tough to find a better prototype than Correa, still just 28. His A-Rod-style body contains the most physical potential — and portends the most long-term stability — of this offseason’s quartet. His maximum exit velocities are the highest. His defensive work at short is actually the most consistent of the bunch, and his superior arm will allow him to move to third base the most easily. The biggest knock is a penchant for minor but persistent injuries, but he hasn’t missed a substantial chunk of time since 2019.

Some might point to a stain from his time with the Astros, but Correa distinguished himself amid intense scrutiny as a leader who could speak about the club's mistakes and blaze a winning trail forward.

Correa’s deal will undoubtedly be compared to Corey Seager’s 10-year, $325 million deal with the Texas Rangers, signed last year, and Turner’s eventual deal.