The Mets consulted the same doctor who gave the Giants a negative review of Carlos Correa’s right ankle problem and caused San Francisco to walk out of their $350 million contract with Correa before the Mets closed out their own US contract. $315 million with the free agent superstar. , sources confirmed to The Post.
Correa revealed the scenario involving the same doctor in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
After the first two deals were canceled, Correa ended up signing a six-year, $200 million deal with the current Twins, who kept in touch with the star while the three-way drama was unfolding.
“The Giants used an ankle specialist that I didn’t pass,” Correa told The Athletic. “So the Mets used the same specialist, who obviously wasn’t going to pass me. He had already given an opinion to another team about my ankle. He wasn’t going to change that. He would stand by what he was saying, of course, because that’s what he believed in. ”
After Mets team physician Mark Drakos, an HSS foot surgeon, consulted with famed ankle surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson, whose dire opinion of Correa’s ankle caused the Giants to withdraw their offer, the Mets also withdrew from their original deal.
The Mets attempted to remake the deal and were willing to guarantee Correa $157.5 million over six years, with the possibility of the other $157.5 million over the next six seasons.
Instead, Correa got Minnesota’s guaranteed $200 million with the potential to earn another $70 million in incentives if he meets license plate appearance benchmarks at the end of the deal. The twins are perhaps most familiar with Correa since he played for them in 2022 and has had several physicals with them.
It is believed that the Mets also consulted with other outside physicians, as is often the case with any significant contract.
Mets GM Billy Eppler declined to comment on Correa’s situation. HIPAA laws limit what teams can say publicly about medical situations.
People familiar with the Mets’ approach say that while there’s no way to determine how long his ankle can hold, they are concerned about exactly how long it can last. Drakos examined Correa in the player’s two-day physical at the Mets, but it was an MRI scan that raised the concern.
Interestingly, Correa didn’t miss a day in the majors because of that ankle, nor did he receive any treatment for it, according to him and agent Scott Boras. The ankle was surgically repaired in 2014 after he suffered an injury to the minors, with a metal plate inserted into that ankle during that surgery. Correa had a problem after a landslide in September, when he said he felt “numb” in the area after a landslide, but he proved to be fine.
“One thing I learned throughout the process is that doctors have different opinions,” said Correa at the press conference to reintroduce him to the Twin Cities.
Correa indicated he was stunned that the ankle had become an issue in his interview with The Athletic.
“We’ve had other ankle specialists look at it and say it would be fine, orthopedists who know me, even the one who performed the surgery on me,” Correa told the site. “They were looking at the functionality of the ankle, the way the ankle has been for the last eight years. I played at an elite level where my movement was never compromised.”
He added: “The only doctor who never touched me, saw me or did a test on me was the one who said I wasn’t going to be okay.”
The shortstop felt confident enough with the deals with the Giants and Mets that he sought several players from both teams after agreeing to the deals, including Francisco Lindor, who would stay in short, with Correa moving to third base.
“Then the physical thing happened with the Mets and Scott started talking about [contract] language with their lawyers,” Correa said. “That’s when it looked like the deal wasn’t going to close, because of certain things with the language that were impossible to accomplish.”
Despite the roller coaster ride this winter, Correa said he has no grudge against the Giants or the Mets, or the doctor who failed him twice.
“Obviously, the doctors’ opinions give you extra motivation to go out there and perform and fulfill the entire contract in a beautiful way,” said Correa. “But proving myself at the end of my career that all the work will pay off, that I was right, that’s all I care about honestly. No hard feelings about [the Giants’ and Mets’] organizations. There is nothing but respect for them. Doctors have differences of opinion. That is good.”
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