Answering lingering questions after Giants' Correa addition originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO -- In late September, as free agency was approaching for a second consecutive offseason, Carlos Correa dropped a juicy quote that ended up being the theme of his future employer's winter.
"When I go to the mall and I go to the Dior store, when I want something, I get it," he told reporters in Minneapolis. "I ask how much it costs, and I buy it. If you really want something, you just go get it.
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"I'm the product here. If they want my product, they've just got to come get it."
Correa was talking about the incumbent Twins at the time, but ultimately it was the Giants who walked out of the store with the most expensive object. In recent days, Giants officials felt the Correa market had cleared to the point that it was them against the smaller-market Twins. That is a bidding war even the Giants, who generally prefer a Target trip to Dior, should win, and on Tuesday, they did.
Correa will be introduced in the coming days after agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million deal, twice the previous high for the Giants organization. He is the new face of the franchise, the player likely to see his photo plastered on the entrance at Third and King, and the Giants are hopeful he can lead them back to contention.
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After falling short on Aaron Judge, the Giants found their answer in Correa. But there are still a lot of questions.
Here are some initial answers:
What does this mean for Brandon Crawford?
This is perhaps the most fascinating -- and awkward -- part of the next few days. Crawford is the longest-tenured Giant by far and their most popular player. He is the ultimate homegrown star, and when he signed a two-year extension during the 107-win season, the dream was that he would finish out his career as the shortstop of the San Francisco Giants. That's been Crawford's dream since he first picked up a glove.
While Crawford had a down year in 2022, he was as good defensively in September as he's been in years. Correa won the American League Gold Glove in 2021, but it was Crawford who won in the NL, and he was worth more Outs Above Average that season, per Baseball Savant.
It would be completely defensible for the Giants to ask Correa to play second or third for the final year of Crawford's contract, but it would also be surprising if the Giants gave a player the second-largest free agent contract in MLB history and then asked him to switch positions.
Scott Boras, Correa's agent, said at the GM Meetings that none of the teams that were talking to his shortstops had asked for a position change. When another Boras client -- Xander Bogaerts -- signed with a team with two shortstops, the Padres made it clear right away that it would be Bogaerts at short, not Fernando Tatis Jr. or Ha-Seong Kim.
I asked high-ranking Giants people about all of this at the Winter Meetings and again Tuesday. The answer has remained the same, that the Giants aren't ready to announce a decision yet. But if they can navigate the stickiness, this is actually a great problem to have.
No matter who is at short, a Crawford-Correa left side of the infield is potentially the best defensive pairing in baseball. If one plays at second -- a real possibility given how often shortstops spent time on that side of the bag while in shifts -- a starting staff that led the Majors in FIP last year will greatly benefit.
The correct answer is probably a timeshare of sorts. Correa has played more than 120 games at short just twice in his career and Crawford started only 113 last season. Both should see plenty of time at shortstop next season, with the Giants having a Gold Glove-caliber defender out there every night. The DH spot helps, and if the Giants decide to move Crawford around, he's kind of a perfect fit defensively for a roster that has right-handed starters at second (Thairo Estrada) and third (David Villar, J.D. Davis).
It'll be up to Gabe Kapler to navigate all of this, and while Correa is the new star, you can bet the Giants will handle this carefully.
There's a new shortstop in town, but the current one is one of the most important players in franchise history and he's still the leader of that clubhouse.
Wait, you said the word timeshare. Will there be platoons?
Asked about the difference from 2021 to 2022, a longtime team employee recently pointed out that Buster Posey, Crawford and Brandon Belt just made life easier for everyone else en route to 107 wins. They played nearly every day when healthy and produced nearly every day, which allowed Kapler to play the matchups with guys like Austin Slater, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Darin Ruf.
Last year, the best hitter in the lineup -- Joc Pederson -- was used in platoons as much as anybody. That's not sustainable with a 26-man roster, and the Giants desperately needed someone who could play every day and allow Kapler to mix and match elsewhere.
Correa has hit lefties better in his career but also has a .274/.346/.477 career slash line against righties. Of his 22 homers last season, 16 came against righties.
Correa will play every day and he'll hit in the heart of the order every day, and Mitch Haniger has also hit same-sided pitching throughout his career. The additions will allow the other pieces to fit a lot easier.
Where will he hit?
Correa primarily batted second last season but most of his big league time has been spent hitting third or cleanup. The Giants do like to platoon in the leadoff spot, so batting him second next season would make a lot of sense and give the lineup some of the stability it's been lacking.
Regardless, Correa is part of a notable rebuild of the heart of the order. A Correa-Pederson-Haniger trio in the two-three-four spots is much better than what the Giants had last season and would allow them to use others in more comfortable spots.
What does this mean for Marco Luciano?
Here's a problem A.J. Preller would love to have: The Giants signed the best shortstop on the market while already having a shortstop, and their top prospect in a decade is also a shortstop. There's a pretty easy answer here, though.
While the Giants have been optimistic about Luciano's ability to stay on the dirt, most rival scouts who have seen him predict a position change at some point. A team official wondered recently how quickly Luciano could move through the minors if the Giants simply moved him to right field and let him slug, and it's possible Correa's signing accelerates that process.
But the Giants won't make that move lightly. Luciano is most valuable as a shortstop and, if healthy, he could be the centerpiece for a deal to fill the hole in the outfield.
The Giants don't need to make that decision now, though. Their focus is on getting Luciano healthy and back on the field.
What's next?
With the Correa deal, the Giants are back up over $200 million in tax payroll but still well below the first threshold of $233 million. Spotrac has them at $206 million, and if they truly wanted to bring Carlos Rodón back and stay under the tax, they could make a trade or two to clear out some money.
But Rodón has been seeking at least six years at around $30 million per season, and while this front office just broke the bank for Correa, the preference has always been to go short-term with pitchers.
The Giants still need defensive help up the middle after two targets -- Brandon Nimmo and Cody Bellinger -- signed elsewhere, but that hole would have to be filled through a trade given what's left on the market. They also are seeking bullpen help, particularly at the back end.
They had genuine interest in Kenley Jansen before he signed with the Boston Red Sox and would like someone to take some pressure off Camilo Doval. Reuniting the Rogers Twins is tantalizing, but the current price is said to be very high on Taylor Rogers, who has 81 saves and an All-Star appearance on his resume.
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Ultimately, the best move may be for Farhan Zaidi to do what he has always done.
A lot of his best work -- Wilmer Flores, Jake McGee, Jose Alvarez -- has come late in the offseason as players get antsy to get into camp. With Correa locked up, the Giants can afford to be patient and see what kind of steals are out there in February.
There is work to be done on a roster that went 81-81, but by getting Correa to sign on the dotted line, the Giants have taken care of the most crucial piece of a very important offseason.
