As it turned out, that belated effort by Cohen seemed to be all Boras needed to quickly secure another big deal for his client after the San Francisco deal fell through. As Cohen told Heyman, “we almost caught up with where we were before and it worked out” during four or five additional hours of negotiations.
Correa’s new contract with New York is a year shorter and has a slightly lower average annual value ($26.25 million with the Mets versus $26.92 million with the Giants). It is also “unique” which is currently the 10th largest contract in baseball history in terms of total value, while the $350 million contract with San Francisco is the fourth largest in history.
However, this deal easily surpasses MLBTR mat of a nine-year, $288 million treaty for Correa. Like the structure of the original Giants contract as well as other transactions signed by Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner This winter alone, the longer period allows the team to spread the luxury tax over more years, while the player still gets his money as well as additional security. The Mets themselves used a version of this strategy to re-sign Brandon Nimmo to an eight-year, $162 million contract, as Nimmo’s tax bill was $20.25 million. Correa now joins Nimmo and Francisco Lindor when Mets players sign contracts after the 2029 season, although Mets spending this winter varies widely.
The Mets’ overall spending figure continues to soar. Assuming Correa’s contract pays him $26.25 million per year of the deal, Amazons payroll will now skyrocket past the $377 million mark for 2023. Already well above the fourth penalty and At the highest level ($293 million) of the Competitive Balance Tax penalty, New York is paying 90% in taxes for every dollar spent over the $293 million threshold. That works out to about $23.62 million added to the Mets’ tax bill, thus bringing their luxury tax bill above $386 million.
Correa, Nimmo, Justin Verlander, Edwin Diaz, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, David Robertson, Adam Ottavinoand Omar Narvaez represents an all-star roster of free agents signed and re-signed by New York this season alone, not to mention their previous resounding successes since Cohen bought the team just more than two years ago. Needless to say, Cohen has set new standards for spending, as owners are unafraid of their immediate desire to make the Mets as competitive as possible. The result was a 101-win season in 2022, but the Amazins failed to make it past the first round of the open knockouts, losing to the Padres in three games in the Wild Card Series.
The contract with Correa “really makes a big difference,” Cohen said. “I feel like our pitching is in good shape. We need one more hitter. This puts us first.
Indeed, much of the Mets’ focus is on improving the rotation, and the barn is filled with freelance agents. While Diaz and Ottavino have been re-signed, a lot of holes have to be filled later Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, Taiwan Walker, Seth Lugo, Joely Rodríguez, Trevor William, Trevor Mayand Mychal Givens all signed elsewhere. Nimmo is the biggest pending freestyle on the player side by position, and Narvaez will help bolster the fishing corps, but Cohen and GM Billy Eppler won’t curb their belligerence.
Finally, one of baseball’s best stops in Correa will now not even be a stop, as Correa will now move to third base out of respect for Lindor. Correa won the Platinum Glove, Gold Glove and Fielding Bible Awards for his work at a short stage in 2021 only, and his professional experience at a third facility includes a game with the Astros affiliate Double-A in 2015. That said, Lindor is an excellent boxer in his own right, and the public figures for Outs Above Average and UZR/150 like the ability to use. used his gloves more than Correa during their careers. There is little doubt that Correa will be able to translate well into the hot corner, thus improving the Mets’ defense as well as the impact he will bring to the squad.
With Correa now the new third sentinel, Eduardo Escobar is suddenly out of a starting job. Less than 13 months ago, Escobar was one of New York’s big signings for the 2021-22 season, when he signed a two-year, $20 million deal. Escobar was fine if nothing special, scoring 0.240/.295/.430 with 20 home goals for 106 wRC+ across 542 appearances in his first year at Queens.
However, “Decent if notspectacular” is not enough for a team that is meant to win, and therefore Escobar can now participate. Luis Guillorme like field depth. It stands to reason that the Mets could explore trading Escobar (and the remaining $10 million on his deal) for a team in need of a reliable veteran quarterback, or New York could simply keep Escobar. as a backup in the event of a player injury. Correa or start second baseman Jeff McNeil.
Look further down the depth chart, top leads Brett Baty also a third baseman, like Bookmark Vientos (ranked by MLB Pipeline as the seventh best minor league in the New York ranch system). Baty has had a stint in midfield and can now be seen as a possible replacement for Canha in the left half, while Vientos could nonetheless be destined to leave second base. three, with first base likely to be his last on the field. However, with Correa currently locked into the hot corner, it seems likely that the Mets could buy either of these prospects for another upgrade.
Today’s news marks the latest turning point in Correa’s controversial career, largely tied to his joining the 2017 Astros team that won the World Series then was overshadowed by the eating scandal. stealing signs. Correa’s time in Houston ended when he signed a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins last winter, though that shorter-than-expected deal was designed to allow for fast quickly return to the freelance company. Correa has opt-out provisions after both the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, and he made that first opt-out to re-enter the market for an uninterrupted season due to the lockdown.
Correa hit 0.291/.366/.467 with 22 home goals in more than 590 appearances in his only season in Minnesota, with 140 wRC+, the third-highest of his eight MLB seasons. Starting off a solid year and still younger than most freelancers when they hit the open market, Correa once hoped to finally land the expensive long-term contract he originally wanted. beginning last year.
The result is two expensive, long-term contracts, with the Mets rushing in to get Correa out of the hands of the Giants. It would perhaps be wise not to fully assume that Correa’s pact with the Mets is a done deal until the physical examination is passed and an official announcement is made, given the sheer nature of the matter. great of the last 24 hours. Yesterday’s reports of delays certainly raised red flags on the status of Correa’s deal with San Francisco, but without any concrete news, there’s still no reason to believe it. that Correa will not end up in the Bay Area in the end.
Instead, the Giants’ winter plans have now fallen to near incalculable failure. The Giants tumble to an 81-81 record after a 107-win season in 2021, prompting baseball executive chairman Farhan Zaidi to look for a major acquisition. San Francisco has a lot of pay space and a lot of demand around the roster to house at least one new superstar, and there seems to be no doubt that the Giants are lining up to make the bomb signing. first real ton of Zaidi’s four-year tenure.
Judge Aaron is clearly a priority going into the season, and the Giants report offered Judge about $360 million before the AL MVP received the same salary on a nine-year contract to re-sign with the Yankees. When Judge left the board, San Francisco then moved into the short market, with Correa emerging as their top target (before Turner, Bogaerts, or Dansby Swanson). The $350 million deal represents the largest deal in franchise history and counters any argument that the Giants main office is unwilling or unable to attract agents. top freedom.
It is incorrect for the Giants to return to normal, since they also signed Mitch Haniger, Ross strippedand Sean Manaea in free agency, and Joc Pederson has been retained through the qualifying offer. But, Carlos Rodon left the team to sign with the Yankees, removing another star from the 2022 roster. The league-wide rush to sign free agents has left the market without most of the top names. , so Zaidi and company will now have to explore the commercial market (and possibly make some tough decisions on top leads) to get another big ticket star… .if an even star is necessarily available.
According to speculation, the Giants could be trying to use their pay space in a different way, possibly by offering a deal for both a star player and an unsolicited contract for a star player. The team is looking to cut spending. With over three months to go until Opening Day, there’s still plenty of time for the Giants to keep moving, but it’s hard to imagine them replenishing anywhere near Correa’s level.
