Latest update makes it clear Carlos Correa really, really wanted to sign with Yankees

It’s possible no baseball star fervently believes in themselves more than Carlos Correa does, no matter what kind of damper the vibrating plate in his leg tries to put on things.

Two outs, none on in a tie game in the seventh? It’s Correa’s time. Down a run late against the Yankees? Correa’s envisioning JA Happ on the mound, no matter who’s pitching, and he’s going yard.

Based on the medicals that have leaked this offseason, there’s no way of knowing how long Correa’s career will last. As long as he’s active, though, he’s going to rise to the occasion and find himself in big moments.

Though it seems as if he’s about to cement himself as a clutch Mets bat for a generation to come — as soon as this pesky contract is signed — the Yankees might’ve been his preferred destination for his next chapter. Like, as recently as a few weeks back.

Per Jon Heyman, Correa polished his sales skills one final time prior to defecting from San Francisco to the Mets, calling up the Yankees’ brass with an extra plea (or two or three) after his first long-term deal of the offseason fell apart. The Yankees didn’t bite.

Carlos Correa called Yankees *again* after Giants deal fell apart

We know Correa’s idol growing up was Alex Rodriguez, which might’ve played a part in the shortstop’s willingness to move to third in deference to Francisco Lindor.

You want to go full A-Rod, though? You sign with the Yankees. You play short, then you move over when Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe are ready. You take aim at the short porch 350 at-bats a year. You gaze around the stadium at the iconic bunting as the October chill blows through your hair, saying, “This is going to be just like 2009 and not, uh, like the other A-Rod postseasons.”

Only problem? The Yankees already took on Josh Donaldson’s 2023 paycheck to make your Minnesota contract happen. He’s still on the books. The Yankees have more history with Correa’s original employers, the Houston Astros, than Steve Cohen does.

Oh, and no matter how far the Yankees expand their budget in the years to come, they will never have Cohen’s completely unlimited appetite. After the Aaron Judge mega-deal and Carlos Rodón contract, they’re more likely to call it an offseason than expand their waistline to bring in a sixth infielder.

Correa would’ve brought an exciting attitude adjustment to a somewhat business-like Yankee team, and clearly preferred to land a long-term pact in the Bronx after his Giants deal unexpectedly fell through. The time for the Yankees to sign Correa was last offseason, though, when his opt-out loomed after just one productive season.

Now? Not so much.