The physical issue that is thought to be impeding Carlos Correa’s deal with the Mets is unlikely to be a problem for the first half of his contract.
Carlos Correa and Mets have yet to reach a contract agreement
An old ankle injury could potentially become a factor in the back half of Correa’s agreed-upon 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets, according to a medical expert.
Dr. Brandon Erickson, an orthopedic surgeon at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute who has not examined Correa, said by phone Wednesday: “The fact that this happened eight years ago, and he hasn’t had any real issues with it since usually means that it’s actually holding up pretty well,”
“Sometimes with a ligament injury, the ankle can be just a little more unstable than the other side. Sometimes it can lead to a little bit of early arthritis in the ankle, which may be what he’s starting to develop over time.”
“[It’s] something that wouldn’t necessarily have any impact on him for the next three to five years, but if you’re going for a 10-15 year contract, for him, a 12-13-year contract, you can worry just a little bit that down the road, could that creep up and be something that could potentially bother him towards the back end of the contract?” Erickson added.
An MRI exam, which was part of Correa’s physical with the Mets before his deal could become official, would reveal such a problem. The Mets and Correa’s camp are now attempting to work out a solution.
Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, insisted last week that his client had “no current issue,” but that “all of the conjecture and evaluation of him has been about physicians using their crystal ball for years to come.”
Correa has missed only 42 games in the last three seasons, none of which have been related to his previous ankle injury. It did come up in September when he was tagged on the area in his lower leg where he has the plate, which he later described to reporters as “numb” and “vibrating.” However, Erickson, who suffered a similar injury during his college football career, stated that this was not uncommon.
