Quiet offseason for Dodgers continues as Giants, Padres make huge free agent signings
The NL West arms race reached another level on Tuesday night when the San Francisco Giants signed shortstop Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350 million contract. The Giants had been a bridesmaid for a few other free agents, but they’ve had a big couple of days, signing pitchers Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea to two-year, $25 million deals. They also previously signed Mitch Haniger after not winning the Aaron Judge sweepstakes.
A 13-year contract for the 28-year-old Correa is an extremely long pact, but the $26.92 million AAV (average annual value) seems more than fair for what Correa brings to the table. Despite the free agent frenzy, the Giants are still +3500 to win the World Series per DraftKings, well below the Dodgers (+700) and Padres (+1000).
Carlos Correa stats
In Correa, the Giants get a strong offensive player, who has improved defensively as well. Correa has accumulated 31.3 fWAR for his career and has been an above average hitter every season except for the shortened 2020 COVID year. He is coming off of a 140 wRC+ season, meaning he was 40% better than league average with a .291/.366/.467 slash. He’s a reliable 25-homer guy that will hit for a high average by today’s standards and post a double-digit walk rate.
The addition of Correa moves Brandon Crawford to third base, a position he has not played at the Major League level in his 12 seasons with the Giants.