Carlos Correa will be twinning again.
The 28-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop is finalizing a six-year, $200 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, pending a physical, according to ESPN.
The announcement comes after weeks of discussion to salvage a deal with the New York Mets broke down, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
The stunning turn caps a whirlwind month for Correa, who agreed to a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants on December 13.
After the Giants raised concerns about Correa’s surgically repaired right leg, he pivoted quickly to the Mets, who offered him a 12-year, $315 million contract.
The Mets flagged his physical as well, and efforts to amend the deal fell apart, leading Correa back to Minnesota, where he signed after a topsy-turvy offseason last year, too.
The agreement includes a vesting option for four years and $70 million and will become official if Correa passes a medical review, which is currently taking place.
The focus will be on his lower right leg, which he broke in 2014 during a minor league game, and a source said the Twins expect to be comfortable with it. Correa has not spent time on the injured list for a right leg ailment in his eight-year Major League Baseball career, but Giants and Mets medical personnel were concerned about how the leg would age.
Correa is among the game’s best shortstops and entered the winter in hopes of securing the mega-contract that eluded him last offseason, when he settled for a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins that included an opt-out after the first season.
Correa hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and high-level defense, leaving the Twins hopeful he would consider returning after he filed for free agency.
Minnesota never intended to play in the $300 million-plus neighborhood, and after Aaron Judge returned to the New York Yankees, the Giants, in search of a franchise player, blew past that number for Correa, leaving the Twins to try to salvage their winter by signing outfielder Joey Gallo and catcher Christian Vazquez.
All the while, they lurked as the fallback plan for Correa, thrilled to potentially add him to a lineup that also includes MLB All-Stars Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez in addition to top prospect Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler, Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach.
Should Correa pass his physical — the Twins are more familiar with his medical situation than any other team and earlier in the winter considered a 10-year, $285 million deal, which is around what the current deal would wind up at if the option vests — Minnesota will enter 2023 with strong hopes of winning the AL Central.
