With Carlos Correa Signing, Mets Officially Become The Yankees

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the richest team in baseball acquired a Hall of Fame caliber shortstop it did not need, as it already had a Hall of Fame caliber shortstop in place. They didn’t need the player, but the fact that they could afford him was reason enough to go and get him.

The 2004 New York Yankees opening day payroll jumped to over $184M when they traded for Alex Rodriguez and plopped him next to Derek Jeter on the left side of the Yankee infield. The next year, it went over $200M for the first time. Fun fact – the New York Yankees 2022 opening day payroll was under the $200M mark at $197M.

Now you don’t need some type of fancy inflation calculator to infer that, despite the signing of reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360M deal, these aren’t the same free-spending Bronx Bombers that they were when The Boss, George Steinbrenner was in charge. Steinbrenner The Elder didn’t care so much about budgets or luxury tax thresholds when he was running the show. In fact, the luxury tax was first introduced back in 1997 to try to rein in the big guy. He was hyperfocused on winning, no matter the cost.

And to an extent, average salaries rose sharply throughout the game as a result. Other clubs weren’t racing to the Yanks’ payroll level, but they were spending more than they otherwise would have if George Steinbrenner wasn’t around.

George’s son Hal runs the show now, and while the club has remained one of the game’s biggest spenders, they have been loath to apprach the upper luxury tax thresholds. And with few other clubs spending more – and with those who do residing the National League – the Yanks’ opening day payroll peaked at $228M way back in 2013.

Well, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Steve Cohen, and his Mets reside mere miles away from the Yanks over in Queens. Major league baseball has luxury tax thresholds that might as well have his name on them. The unwritten rules of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and his owner brethren apparently do not apply to him, and in an offbest kind of way, it’s refreshing even to non-Mets’ fans.

He spent big last offseason, and then again in the early stages of the 2022-23 Hot Stove. I wrote it about here just last week, and I wasn’t overly impressed. Sure, they improved in 2022, and signing Max Scherzer away from a chief competitor, the Dodgers, will do that for you. New Manager Buck Showalter was arguably an equally big addition. But the player ins and outs of this offseason prior to last night were largely win-neutral for the Mets. That observation applies no longer.

Carlos Correa is a stud. In a historic free agent shortstop class, he was the prize. He appeared to be on his way to San Francisco for a 13-year, $350M deal, but issues arose on his physical just hours before his introductory press conference. The Mets then swooped in and inked him to a 12-year, $315M contract.

Specifics have not been given for the nature of the Giants’ medical concerns, but some reports point to questions about a lower leg injury suffered by Correa in 2014, before he reached the major leagues.

Correa was the best and the youngest of the four shortstops (Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson are the others) to hit free agency this offseason. He hits the ball the hardest and has the best K/BB profile of the group. His all-around physical tools also grade out the highest. Turner is faster and Bogaerts and Swanson have been more durable, but Correa has been and projects to be the best.

And now, like Alex Rodriguez, he’ll slide in at third base in New York City for his age 28 season. While there is a tendency to gloss over A-Rod’s performance as a Yankee (he “only” won a single World Series there), he did notch a pair of MVP awards and homer titles.

While Correa is unlikely to match A-Rod’s personal achievements, it will be a huge letdown if the Mets win one or fewer World Series’ championships in his Met career. Steve Cohen means business, hardware is his only measuring stick, and the team payroll is only going to speed past its current $384M level. Meet the new George.