Carlos Correa signing: Scott Boras says he gave Giants 'reasonable time' before pivoting to Mets

The Giants reportedly had issues with Correa's medical reports

The New York Mets sent shockwaves through baseball in the early morning hours Wednesday when they stole Carlos Correa away from the San Francisco Giants with a 12-year, $315 million contract. Hours earlier, the star shortstop had plans to head to the Bay Area on a 13-year, $350 million contract. Now, he will move to third base in deference to Francisco Lindor.

San Francisco was scheduled to introduce Correa at a press conference Tuesday, but it was postponed, a move later revealed to be over a medical issue gave the team pause. The nature of the issue is unknown, though it involves an older injury that dates back prior to Correa's MLB career, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"While we are prohibited from disclosing confidential medical information, as Scott Boras publicly stated, there was a difference of opinion over the results of Carlos' physical examination. We wish Carlos the best," the Giants said in a statement Wednesday.  

Scott Boras, Correa's agent, told The Athletic he gave the Giants "reasonable time" to complete the signing before moving on to the Mets. From The Athletic:

"We reached an agreement. We had a letter of agreement. We gave them a time frame to execute it," Boras said. "They advised us they still had questions. They still wanted to talk to other people, other doctors, go through it.

"I said, 'Look, I've given you a reasonable time. We need to move forward on this. Give me a time frame. If you're not going to execute, I need to go talk with other teams."

Physicals are standard prior to a free agent signing and, when an issue pops up, the contract can be reworked, scrapped entirely, or executed as is. J.D. Martinez's contract with the Boston Red Sox was delayed by his physical in 2018. The Baltimore Orioles agreed to sign Grant Balfour in Dec. 2013, then walked away from the contract after something in his physical scared them.

Following the Correa agreement, Mets owner Steven Cohen told the New York Post, "We needed one more thing, and this is it ... This puts us over the top." Those comments may make it difficult for the Mets to back out of their agreement should they find something alarming in Correa's physical. It is all but certain he is heading to Citi Field at this point.

Medical information is open to interpretation, like art. One doctor's red flag is another's nothingburger, and whatever the Giants saw that gave them pause may not bother the Mets. If it is indeed an injury that predates Correa's MLB career, then we know it didn't scare the Minnesota Twins, who signed him last offseason.

That said, Correa, 28, dealt with back and neck problems earlier in his career. He missed time with COVID in 2022, as well as a finger injury after being hit by a pitch.