Comings and goings are going to happen in the MLB offseason. Every organization deals with it. But a full-on rollercoaster ride with highs of jubilation quickly turning into lows of heartbreak is nothing short of an absolute disaster.
The San Francisco Giants and their fans in the Bay Area have experienced just that — and they experienced it twice.
Carlos Correa on Wednesday morning reportedly agreed to sign with the New York Mets. It marked the second long-term deal Correa had agreed to within the last two weeks as the initial agreement came with the Giants on Dec. 13. Before officially signing what reportedly was a 13-year deal worth $350 million, the Giants reportedly had some hesitations with Correa’s medicals. San Francisco then pushed off Correa’s introductory press conference scheduled for Tuesday only for Mets owner Steve Cohen to land the two-time MLB All-Star on what’s reported to be a 12-year, $315 million deal less than 24 hours later.
While Correa seemingly spurning the Giants won’t be met fondly by San Francisco fans, there almost certainly will be more frustration given how the team’s offseason started.
Aaron Judge, albeit for a brief span, was reported to be joining the Giants on Dec. 6. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman initially reported Judge, who he incorrectly referred to as “Arson Judge” in a quickly-deleted tweet, appeared to be headed to the Giants. Heyman, however, followed that up just a few minutes later and expressed how he jumped the gun on the Judge news and nothing was completed. The reigning American League MVP has since re-signed with the New York Yankees on a massive deal of his own. The agreement with New York on Dec. 7 prompted many to poke fun at both Heyman and the Giants, who came up just shy of adding a superstar talent.
Given how the two situations played out, the Giants without a doubt are among the biggest losers of the MLB offseason. They didn’t just lose out on organization-altering talent. They lost out on said talent in excruciating fashion. And in the case of the Mets, specifically, it made San Francisco’s pursuit of a National League pennant all the more difficult.
The Mets and Giants saw their betting prices head in two completely different directions Wednesday. New York now is a co-favorite to win the pennant and has tied for the third-best odds to win the World Series, per DraftKings Sportsbook. Meanwhile, the Giants dropped from a middle-of-the-road contender to a long shot to win either the NL or World Series.
All things considered, it’s been a brutal offseason in the Bay Area.
