Minnesota Twins close in on Carlos Correa as Mets concerns linger

It’s been nearly 20 days since the New York Mets and Carlos Correa agreed to a long-term contract. Now, he may return to the Minnesota Twins after all.

After a long, dramatic free agency, Carlos Correa may return to where it all began.

Correa was a Twin last season, as he signed a short-term deal with a player option prior to the 2021 campaign. The thought, at least then by Scott Boras and Co., was that Correa would cash in on a long-term contract this offseason.

Despite two separate efforts with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, that has not come to fruition thanks to concerns about Correa’s physical. Now, after waiting for the Mets to approve his physical for nearly 20 days, Correa’s camp has accelerated talks with the Twins, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Twins rumors: Carlos Correa closing in on a solution

It’s unclear exactly what a Correa deal with Minnesota would look like. Their previous offer, prior to any issues with his physical, was around 10 years for $285 million, per reports. Now we’re not so sure.

The concerns around Correa’s physical are centered on his right leg. Correa had a plate inserted there due to an injury suffered in 2014 when he played for an Astros minor-league affiliate.

“He just hit my plate,” Correa said at the time. “I had surgery and he hit it. Just kind of felt numb. Vibrating. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary, but when I moved I knew I was good.”

What went wrong with Mets and Carlos Correa?

New York’s medical staff has the right to do its due diligence, as do the Giants. However, it’s fair to wonder why this level of concern is being shown for an injury that is so old, and hasn’t been an issue to this point.

Perhaps, with such a long-term commitment, both teams wanted to be absolutely sure Correa would be worth the payout. The answer, to this point, has been no.