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The New York Mets and zillionaire owner Steve Cohen have had quite the MLB offseason.
The Mets won 101 games in 2022. But a late surge from the Atlanta Braves saw them pip New York to the NL East title before the Mets went out sad to the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card round.
But the great thing about having extraordinarily deep pockets is that it means you have a ton of money to spend. And boy have the Mets spent money.
New York lost ace Jacob DeGrom in free agency to the Texas Rangers. But it didn’t take long for them to right the ship. New York inked reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal. It then brought in veteran lefty Jose Quintana to replace start Taijuan Walker, who left for Philadelphia.
The Mets followed that move up by going overseas to land Japanese superstar Kodai Sengai on a five-year, $75 million contract. But Cohen appeared to save the best for last.
After superstar shortstop Carlos Correa’s deal with the San Francisco Giants fell apart due to issues with his physical, the Mets pounced. New York agreed to a 12-year, $315 contract with the 28-year-old that shocked the baseball world.
Only one problem. Apparently, they didn’t look at the physical beforehand either.
New York Mets Deal With Carlos Correa Appears To Be Falling Apart
The Mets, like the Giants before them, backed off the deal with Correa due to concerns about his injury history. But New York fans and Mets brass remained optimistic they could work out an amended deal.
Now that seems unlikely.
Andy Martino of SNY.com reports the Mets are growing “very frustrated” with way negotiations are going and may well decide to walk away.
As recently as Thursday, league sources were expecting resolution soon. It is unclear exactly what happened to sour the vibe, but now Correa’s camp is hearing from other teams, and the Mets are frustrated enough to think about abandoning the deal altogether.
New York has had an impressive offseason with or without Correa and looks to be a true contender in 2023. But if they walk away without a deal for All-Star infielder, it’ll no doubt leave egg on their face.