The Giants called about Carlos Correa after the Mets saga

The long and painful saga has ended. After agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, then a 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets, All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa settled on a six-year, $200 million deal with the Minnesota Twins, with conditions that could add another four years and $70 million to the deal.

It’s perhaps the strangest player saga in MLB free agent history, and the Giants were smack dab in the middle of it, for worse or for ... no, just for worse, really.

I hesitate to ever say something like this is over, but it’s as over as it can be. Correa has passed his physical with the Twins, and put pen to ink. The contract has been signed, and the Twins did the one thing that MLB teams and 13-year olds have in common: made a relationship official by announcing it on social media.

In the wake of Correa’s third and final free agency agreement, many Giants fans wondered: could they have topped that deal? Did Scott Boras not give them an opportunity to?

It sounds like he did. When Correa was negotiating with the Mets still, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said that Correa and his team were “focused on a deal elsewhere.” But after the Mets deal fully fell apart, other teams were allowed back into the fray ... including the Giants.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Zaidi revealed that the Giants had talked with Correa’s camp post-Mets fiasco.

Then, in a very un-surprising move, Zaidi did not take the bait when asked if he felt vindicated by the deal stalling in New York, too.

Zaidi is both very savvy at avoiding putting his foot in his mouth when talking publicly, and someone who doesn’t seem to hold grudges. So you can take his above quote at face value or as knowing how to say the right thing, and you’re probably right either way.

Not surprisingly, Zaidi didn’t discuss the terms of Correa’s deal with the Twins, but it shouldn’t be surprising that the Giants weren’t able to match Minnesota’s offer. The Giants and Mets reportedly had the same doctor look at Correa’s medicals, and New York’s best post-physical offer was reportedly for the same six years that Minnesota offered ... but $42.5 million less. If the free-spending and borderline reckless Mets weren’t willing to come within shouting distance of the Twins offer, you can bet your butt the Giants weren’t, either.

So onward the Giants march. They negotiated with Correa. Then they said goodbye to Correa. Then they got locked out of Correa. Then they talked to Correa. And finally they watched Correa re-sign with the team he started with.

Now all that’s left is to play him in May.