A Carlos Correa Warning Sign That Foreshadowed His Current Dilemma

What's up with Carlos Correa's medicals? Has this supposed 8-year-old injury really cropped up out of nowhere? Not quite, as the warning sign was there for anyone who was watching closely this past season. 

While the New York Mets and the Correa camp (i.e. agent Scott Boras) work silently behind the scenes trying to salvage their 12-year, $315M deal, one needs only to look back at a game on September 20th, when Correa's Minnesota Twins faced the Kansas City Royals. 

On a steal attempt at second base, Correa's right leg went sliding into the Royals' second baseman with impact, and the Twins' shortstop grabbed his ankle in pain. 

"He just hit my plate,” Correa said after the game, per The Athletic. “I had surgery, and he hit it. Just kind of felt numb. Vibrating. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary, but when I moved I knew it was good.”

That season-ending surgery for a fractured fibula came back in 2014 when Correa was still in the minors. He returned with a plate in his leg to protect the joint, and it's still there to this day. 

Therein lies the issue that doctors for both the San Francisco Giants (who Correa first signed with this winter) and now the Mets have voiced concern about. What is the long-term viability of that leg to hold up to the rigors of major league ball for another dozen years (the length of the intended contract)?

The probability of Correa and the Mets working it out has been put at about 55% as of today, according to Insider Jon Heyman.