Brian Cashman confirms Yankees ‘never made an official offer’ to Carlos Correa or Freddie Freeman

In doing so, the Yankees passed on one of the best free-agent classes in recent memory. They were connected to Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman throughout the winter, though GM Brian Cashman confirmed Monday that the Yankees never did make either player an official offer.

Many times statements like this come down to semantics. “We didn’t put a piece of paper in front of them to sign, though we talked terms and knew what it would take.” That kind of thing. Still, Yankees fans don’t want to hear their team didn’t bother to make an offer to two of the game’s best players. They just want the best players.

Rizzo has played well in the early going (he is the first Yankee to drive in multiple runs in each of the team’s first three games since Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio in 1949), but Kiner-Falefa is 1 for 11 with several defensive misplays. He hasn’t exactly made Yankees fans forget about Correa (or fellow free agents Javier Báez, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Trevor Story).”

Brian Cashman on free agents the Yankees missed: "We never made an official offer to Correa or Freeman, but we were in touch with their reps on what they were looking for." @CartonRoberts

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) April 11, 2022

Report: ‘Representation Issues’ Sunk Cubs’ 7-Year Deal, $30M+ AAV Offer to Carlos Correa

As it turns out, they may actually have offered exactly the kind of seven-year deal they were reportedly interested in convincing Correa to accept. As MLB Network host Stephen Nelson told Laurence Holmes of 670 The Score, it wasn’t just a matter of rumors tying the Cubs to the former Astro.

“Correa and the Cubs, there was not just a little smoke there,” Nelson said. “There was a huge offer thrown Carlos Correa’s way in Chicago, but because of some representation issues, let’s say, with Correa and his camp, that deal never came to pass.”

Though Nelson didn’t offer additional specifics at the time because he had the audacity to prioritize the supervision of his infant over spilling a little tea, he later tweeted some additional context. Those “representation issues” stemmed from Correa’s move from William Morris Endeavor to Scott Boras in January, the wake of which apparently washed the Cubs’ offer overboard.

Here’s why Yankees didn’t go for Correa

Correa didn’t find the long-term deal he had been seeking, choosing instead to take the shorter-term contract that averages $35.1 million. The Yankees might have been intrigued by the length of the deal, which would have kept the position open for one of the young shortstops, but the average annual value gave New York pause.

Hal Steinbrenner recently noted that the Yankees are already north of the $230 million CBT threshold, having recently taken on Josh Donaldson‘s contract in a trade with the Twins. According to Spotrac, the Yankees’ CBT payroll stands at approximately $251 million, which would already place them in the second tax bracket, adding a 12 percent surcharge to the base tax rate.

According to sources, the Yankees’ primary hesitation involved the non-financial penalties that come with passing the $270 million threshold, namely their first-round Draft pick being moved back 10 spots.

“If it was just about money, they may have made a bigger play for Correa on a short-term deal,” a source said. “But the Draft thing made it a non-starter, especially after the Donaldson deal.”

Sources: Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins agree to 3-year, $105.3 million deal with opt-outs

Shortstop Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins are in agreement on a three-year, $105.3 million contract that includes opt-outs after the first two seasons, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Correa’s deal, which was first reported by Fox 26 Houston, will pay him $35.1 million in each of the three years, sources said.

Correa picking the Twins was a surprise, given they have lost 18 consecutive postseason games and finished last in the AL Central a year ago at 73-89.

His average salary becomes baseball’s fourth highest behind Mets pitcher Max Scherzer ($43.3 million), Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million) and Angels outfielder Mike Trout ($35.5 million).