MLB highest-paid shortstops: Carlos Correa becomes highest-paid shortstop in MLB history with Giants megadeal
Xander Bogaerts’ value became clear at Winter Meetings this season, as the Padres penned the shortstop to an 11-year, $280 million contract that beat out the San Francisco Giants and made him the fifth-highest paid shortstop in MLB history.
That limelight didn’t last long, however, as the Giants decided to recapture the narrative and sign Carlos Correa to a 13-year, $350 million deal Tuesday that made him the highest-paid shortstop in league history and, as an aside, knocked Bogaerts down to No. 6.
Although Correa is making a negligible amount more than Bogaerts in AAV, the contract is hugely significant in that Correa opted out of the three-year deal he signed with the Twins last year to get it. After Correa’s contract, three of the top six shortstop contracts in MLB history have come this offseason, as he joins Bogaerts and Trea Turner, who signed with the Phillies on an 11-year, $300 million deal.
Correa’s megadeal leapfrogged him over the Mets’ Francisco Lindor, although Lindor is still making more money per season at $34.1 million per year (Correa is making $26.9 million per).
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Highest-paid shortstops in MLB history
All of the six highest-paid shortstops in MLB history are still active. Before Correa’s deal, Bogaerts was the most recent addition to the club after he signed with the Padres on a $280 million deal for 11 years.
Of the following four, only Wander Franco of the Rays is still active as they bought out several years of his team control. Alex Rodriguez is still taking two spots.
Derek Jeter, for his part, sits at No. 9 with the 10-year, $189 million he signed ahead of the 2001 season, which had its market set by Rodriguez’s $252 million deal with the Rangers.
Here’s a look at the full top 10.
Player | Team | Year signed | Years | Money |
Carlos Correa | San Francisco Giants | 2022 | 13 | $350 million |
Francisco Lindor | New York Mets | 2021 | 10 | $341 million |
Fernando Tatis Jr. | San Diego Padres | 2021 | 14 | $340 million |
Corey Seager | Texas Rangers | 2022 | 10 | $325 million |
Trea Turner | Philadelphia Phillies | 2022 | 11 | $300 million |
Xander Bogaerts | San Diego Padres | 2022 | 11 | $280 million |
Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | 2007 | 10 | $275 million |
Alex Rodriguez | Texas Rangers | 2000 | 10 | $252 million |
Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | 2001 | 10 | $189 million |
Wander Franco | Tampa Bay Rays | 2021 | 11 | $182 million |
The way these names are bunched together is interesting (with Franco being an outlier, given the Rays exist in their own spending sphere). In essence, the shortstop market has boomed in the past two years, partially due to the versatility of those who play the position. The seven, eight, and nine spots, meanwhile, are occupied by the bizarre bubble we saw when Rodriguez was singlehandedly setting the market in the 2000s.
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Clearly, the current market for shortstops is set, with Correa, Bogaerts, and Turner setting a new standard. Rockies fans can also rejoice, as this offseason has bumped the nightmare contract of Troy Tulowitzki off the list.
Correa is bringing a bat that hits in the neighborhood of .300 and 20-plus home runs per season, not to mention solid defense, so the Giants know what they’re getting in him. He had a bWAR of 5.4 last year with the Twins, which ultimately led to him betting on himself and winning — big — in free agency.
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