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The big leagues
PA
San Francisco
Giants executive Farhan Zaidi said the club immediately raised concerns with Carlos Correa’s representative when problems arose with the shortstop’s health that led to the deal falling through. Zaidi, San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, spoke publicly for the first time Friday after Correa’s $350 million, 13-year contract expired on Dec. 20. An introductory press conference was canceled about three hours before the start of the day. Correa and agent Scott Boras reached a new deal with the Mets for $315 million over 12 years. “I spoke to Scott Boras on the phone on Monday, and we did a proper physical on Carlos when his plane landed in San Francisco at 5 p.m., and those conversations have continued since then, so any suggestion that it was last minute is not accurate,” Zaidi told us in a video call with a small group of reporters. We shared the information as soon as we got it. We have a good working relationship with Scott Boras and his agency.” Zaidi confirmed that there was a “physical disagreement” in the Giants’ and Correa’s camp. In 2014, the star infielder suffered a right ankle injury and surgery while playing Class A, which remains anonymous due to rules. Correa’s deal with the Mets is being held back by similar concerns, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press about the situation. Zaidi said it’s an important and standard front office practice to “show them the courtesy to report any concerns immediately and not wait until the last possible second.” He has a good relationship with Boras. In fact, the Giants were close to finalizing a two-year, $36 million contract with another Boras client, outfielder Michael Conforto, who already had a successful physical with New York. San Francisco “has had some conversations” with Boras, according to Zaidi, as Correa’s deal is still pending, but “at this point they’re focused on a deal elsewhere, so I think there’s a chance. Based on his position it is impossible to negotiate with us now. Additionally, Zaidi wanted to emphasize to the Giants’ loyal fan base that every decision was made as a team, not by any individual. “One thing I want to make clear is that I think it’s very important for us as an organization that our fans hear from me, and I hope that our organization has been absolutely united every step of the way when this has played out.” Zaidi said. , “In the initial harassment, the negotiations and unfortunately what happened afterwards.” Zide faced criticism this season after missing out on Aaron Judge and then Correa. While Zaidi calls it a “frustrating situation” for everyone involved, he tries to put it all in perspective: “It’s baseball, I feel very fortunate to be in this job, I love it, I love the responsibility that comes with it. And part of my responsibility is to support other people when things don’t go your way. It is also encouraging.” He remains under scrutiny and hopes to continue to improve the list by 2023. Zaidi, 46, is a former assistant general manager of the Oakland A’s who came to the Giants in November 2018 from his previous job as general manager of the Dodgers. “It’s always a little annoying when you open your Twitter app to see what’s going on in the world. Your name is trending, and that’s usually not a good thing,” he said. “I understand that at the end of the day it comes with the territory. We have fans who really care and are really invested in this team. At the end of the day, our job is to put an attractive and fun team to watch on the field.
