After nearly three weeks, the Carlos Correa saga has finally come to an end. Unfortunately, for the New York Mets, on some bitter terms.
- 3 notes from the Mets sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates
- Mets lose surging third baseman to a hamstring injury
- The Mets have reacquired a reliever they recently designated for assignment
Mets lose out on Carlos Correa, who is wrapping up deal with Twins:
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Correa and the Minnesota Twins are finishing up a deal over six years and worth $200 million, with a pending physical. Passan also reported that the contract consists of a vesting option that can reach up to $270 million.
With Correa’s physical concerns, the duration of this new deal shrinks in half from the one agreed to with the Mets, 12 years for $315 million. The average annual salary does increase quite substantially, though from $26.25 million with the Mets to $33.3 million with the Twins.
There is no way around it; this is a tough loss for the Mets. They needed an improved lineup for 2023, and Correa was the perfect piece. His ability to hit for consistent contact, size at the plate, and power presence were all things this lineup had to have direly. Not to mention, Correa is still a young player.
It is frustrating knowing Steve Cohen expressed concerns about this lineup going into next season, needing one more bat, and why the Mets ultimately could not seal the deal here with Correa. At the moment, the Mets’ batting order, one that struggled mightily down the stretch in 2022, on paper, is virtually no different.
While long-term concerns with Correa’s physical were more than fair to have, why the Mets were not willing to go all-in for a World Series in the next few years on a much shorter-term contract with Correa, which he ended up getting, is befuddling. Now, the team will keep Eduardo Escobar at third, and this does give Brett Baty more hope for a long-term future with the Mets at third base.