Monday BP: Carlos Correa reveals phone conversation with Brandon Crawford

Happy Monday, San Francisco Giants fans, and happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I thought I was done writing about Carlos Correa, because he is now a member of the Minnesota Twins, and therefore no longer part of Giants news.

Except he talked about the Giants. Which means it’s time to write about him again.

Shortly after completing his six-year, $200 million deal with the Twins — which came after a 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants and a 12-year, $315 million deal with the New York Mets fell through due to concerns following his physical — Correa had a phone interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. I recommend reading the entire conversation, as it’s fascinating, and impossible to dislike Correa.

In it he discusses some of the details surrounding the deal falling apart with the Giants. He corroborated the report that he was not told of the situation hours before the press conference, but rather the day before. He said he was blindsided by the failed physical and, while he stopped short of saying anything negative about the Giants or Mets, made clear that multiple doctors who know him better than the ankle specialist who advised the Giants and Mets had shown no signs of concern.

He also had some quotes about playing for the Giants that will make fans sad to not get to root for him. He said he didn’t really factor in the ballpark when making his decision but did think about “how can we improve our roster and make that team better for us to be, in a couple of years, the top dogs in the division.”

But the most notable quote — from where I’m sitting — is his remark about Brandon Crawford. Correa said Crawford was the first player on the Giants he called, and had this to say about his fellow Gold Glove-winning All-Star shortstop:

I said, “Hey, I respect you as a person and as a player. I know I’m coming in, and I’m a shortstop just like you. But I want you to know that I want to make this work. I want us to work together in order for us to accomplish the goals the team wants to accomplish. And I want to learn a couple of things from you also, that you can do at shortstop very well that I can’t. I want to be able to pick your brain, so we can help each other improve our games.”

He welcomed me right away, said he was happy I was going to be part of the team and that I was going to make us better. It was like a 5-6 minute conversation.

Sigh. What could have been.

It’s certainly a strong reminder of the humanity of the job. For a week Correa thought he’d be spending the next decade-plus of his life in San Francisco. Then for a few weeks he thought he’d be spending the next decade-plus of his life in New York City. And now he’s in Minneapolis. Three very different places.

It’s easy to forget those human elements. Correa said that in the week between agreeing to the deal and seeing it fall apart he talked to “pretty much all the players,” and “the whole coaching staff.”

Tough business.