What Carlos Correa's signing means for Giants, Yankees, best remaining free agents

After missing out on Aaron Judge, the San Francisco Giants were desperate for a superstar.

Now they have one — Carlos Correa, for 13 years and $350 million dollars. A big deal in many ways. A contract that runs until the end of *double checks notes* the year 2035. A legitimate superstar shortstop that the Giants can build around.

But what about everyone else? With the market’s last big fish reeled in, where does it leave the rest of the offseason? What impact does this landmark deal have on the league, and what can we learn from it?

It’s Carlos Rodón time

With Correa off the board, the burly left-handed hurler immediately becomes the most sought after free agent remaining. After penning a two-year deal with San Francisco last winter that allowed him to opt out after Year 1, Rodón solidified himself as one of the game’s premier hurlers.

Predictably, he activated that opt-out and looks set to receive a deal in the realm of six years for around $150 million dollars. Not a bad raise. Notably, Rodón is the last top-flight free agent represented by Scott Boras, the game’s premier agent, who already negotiated new contracts for Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Brandon Nimmo. You’d imagine Boras will now turn his energy and focus toward Rodón, who seems likely to sign before the new year.

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The 30-year-old is the last true needle-mover on the open market, a legitimate frontline ace capable of total domination, someone you can hand the ball to in Game 1 of a postseason series and feel good about. With so many teams still desperate to improve their rosters before Opening Day, Rodón is quite a hot commodity.

Despite retaining Judge, the Yankees aren’t noticeably better than they were two months ago when the Astros pantsed them in the ALCS. Boston is Bogaerts-less, in danger of falling behind in the AL East arms race. The Twins missed out on Correa, their one true love. Even San Francisco, who just gave Correa the bag, are still behind their division mates in L.A. and San Diego.

That all bodes well for Mr. Rodón’s great-grandchildren who should be able to go to any college they want.

The Yankees are rolling with the kids

Those Correa to the Bronx rumors always smelled of poppycock, but now it’s more or less official: The 2023 Yankees are giving the shortstop keys to a bunch of kids. Sure, they could still make a trade, or sign Dansby Swanson or Elvis Andrus, but all signs point to an Isiah Kiner-Falefa/Oswald Peraza/Anthony Volpe rotating circus.

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The veteran Kiner-Falefa was the bane of many Yankees fans' existence in 2022, as the pool-noodle-powered shortstop struggled mightily on both sides of the ball. He remains the club’s likeliest Opening Day starter. Peraza, a well-regarded youngster, came up late in the year and even started a game in the ALCS, but remains unproven. Volpe, a local kid and the franchise’s top prospect, has the highest ceiling of the three but hasn’t cracked the bigs just yet.

For two straight winters, the Yankees have said no thank you to a troupe of talented free-agent shortstops. Last year they stayed away from Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Javier Báez, Trevor Story and Correa. This year they passed on Bogaerts, Trea Turner and Correa, again. It’s a show of trust in the young talent they already have, a calculated gamble that one of Peraza or Volpe can become their shortstop of the future.

The Mets are factors even when they don’t spend

Last night, The Athletic reported that the Mets, who’ve already pushed their 2023 payroll well above $300 million, had real interest in Correa. A team official in the article was quoted as saying, "I’d say there’s some smoke, I’m not sure how big the fire is, though."

Then, just hours later: Correa to the Giants.

This is a common dynamic in free agency: a player is close to signing with a team, until late interest from another team pops up, forcing Team 1 to raise the price. It happened twice last week: between the Red Sox and Padres over Bogaerts, and between the Giants and Yankees over Judge.

It remains unclear just how deep the Mets' interest in Correa really was, but there’s no doubt that owner Steve Cohen and his canyon-deep pockets are impacting the market. While paying Correa over $300 million to play third base in deference to Francisco Lindor sounded absurd at face, Cohen’s spending has made the outrageous sound realistic all winter long.

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If anyone needed more proof that the big-money Mets are for real, their role in the Correa sweepstakes shows a financial impact beyond the players who end up wearing blue and orange. And more importantly, it shows they might not be done this offseason.

Do the Twins spend money elsewhere?

A year ago Minnesota capitalized on a bizarre, lockout-marred free-agent market to sign Correa to a three-year, opt-out laden deal. While the team underwhelmed and underperformed, the superstar shortstop shined, and as expected, used his opt-out at season’s end.

The Twins have spent the last few months gushing about their Correa experience in 2022, telling anyone who’d listen how eager they were to retain his services. Ownership was reportedly just as infatuated, willing to commit big coin to keep the 28-year-old up North for the rest of his career.

But desire means nothing if the cash doesn’t match. The Giants outbid the Twins’ reported best offer (10 years, $288 million) by three years and $65 million. Minnesota’s unrequited love leaves them without a shortstop, but not entirely empty-handed.

The $28.5 million per year that Twins leadership set aside for Correa still exists somewhere (I’m laughing at the idea of $28.5 million in one-dollar bills in a tip jar). The Twins still have a talented yet flawed roster capable of competing for a playoff spot in a rickety AL Central. And while Correa was the last big fish on the open market, the Twins can still use free agency to improve their chances in 2023.

A corner bat like Michael Brantley, Michael Conforto or Andrew Benintendi would give their lineup much-needed depth. Swanson, the last of this offseason’s "Big Four Shortstops" remains unemployed. A slew of intriguing relief options including Zack Britton, Trevor May and Matt Moore would reinforce what was a middle-of-the-road bullpen in 2022. And of course there’s Rodón, who would give Minnesota their first no-doubt, frontline monster since Johan Santana left town in 2008.

The Twins missed out on the grand prize, but their winter is salvageable ... if they spend the money.

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The Giants have to figure out what to do with Brandon Crawford

Good problems are still problems, and now the Giants have one with extremely wet hair named Brandon.

Crawford has been the club’s starting shortstop since late 2011. In that time, he has played the fourth-most games in San Francisco history, behind only Willie McCovey, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds. More pressingly, he’s never appeared anywhere but shortstop. The 35-year-old’s 1,561 games played at the sport’s most demanding infield position is tied for the third most in MLB history by a player who’s never played anywhere else, behind a pair of Hall of Famers in Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Smith.

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Correa’s arrival will surely push Crawford, set to become a free agent at season’s end, to either third or second base. The long-haired glovesmith has seen his offensive production fluctuate wildly over his career — 141 OPS+ in 2021, 85 OPS+ in 2022 — and might not be as valuable away from the only position he’s ever known.

Relying on a franchise icon to make way for a well-paid stranger, disliked by many across baseball for his connection to the 2017 Astros' scandal, is quite a big ask, though still an obvious one. How well Crawford takes to his new reality could have a big impact on the clubhouse in 2023, especially now that Crawford is the de facto team leader with Brandon Belt and Buster Posey gone.

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Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. Follow him on Twitter at @Jake_Mintz.