Over the past few days, the Mets have grown “very frustrated” with Carlos Correa negotiations, in the words of one source with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking, and are now considering walking away altogether.
Correa-to-Mets is not dead. In fact, the source said that in the end, they still believed the sides stood a strong chance of reaching an agreement. But the deal is clearly at an inflection point, and for the first time the team is seriously questioning whether it wants to proceed.
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, could not be reached for comment.
On Dec. 21, the Mets and Correa agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract, pending physical. That physical later revealed long-term concerns about a previous ankle injury.
The sides have been in constant communication, much of it involving attorneys, but have as yet been unable to agree on contract language that would protect the Mets from risks associated with that injury.
As recently as Thursday, league sources were expecting a resolution soon. It is unclear exactly what happened to sour the vibe, but now Correa’s camp is hearing from other teams, and the Mets are frustrated enough to think about abandoning the deal altogether.
As of Friday morning, the sides had not broken off talks, and continued to try to work through the issues.