Signing Carlos Correa Will Bring New York Mets’ Estimated Payroll To A Stunning $376 Million

Most baseball fans went to bed December 20, 2022, thinking shortstop Carlos Correa would be playing for the San Francisco Giants, on a 13-year, $350M contract. Wrong.

Apparently, the Giants found an issue with Correa’s physical exam that delayed the actual contract signing.

In a stunning move, Correa has now signed with the New York Mets for 12 years at $315M. It is reported that Correa’s new deal is pending a physical.

In a recent article on this site regarding Correa signing with the Giants, this writer highlighted Correa’s history of back issues and injuries. Due to his history of back problems, in the article, this scout pointed to risks involved with signing Correa to a long-term deal.

While it isn’t confirmed that back problems were the issue, it is clearly possible the medical staff of the Giants saw reason for concern somewhere in his exam. Maybe it is his back.

RosterResource.com has reported that once Correa signs with the Mets, the team’s 2023 player payroll is estimated to be a massive $376M.

The estimated Mets payroll now seriously exceeds the MLB Luxury Tax structure.

Mets owner Steven A. Cohen has greatly exceeded every one of the four thresholds of the tax system. He has blown by $233M, $253M, $273M and the final level, $293.

Mr. Cohen’s spending is the reason the tax was called the “Steven Cohen Luxury Tax” by some during the MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations.

Putting the Mets payroll in perspective, the Oakland Athletics payroll is estimated to be $54M. The Pittsburgh Pirates will be at $63M. The Tampa Bay Rays are estimated to be spending $74M next year on payroll.

What’s wrong with that picture? The disparity in team payrolls is chilling.

When hedge fund manager Steven A Cohen submitted a bid to purchase the Mets franchise, many MLB owners were greatly concerned about the potential for Cohen to spend wildly on player payroll. They were concerned Cohen would further skew the financial and competitive balance among MLB clubs.

As Andy Martino of SNY explained on MLBNetwork Radio, the hiring and presence of veteran baseball executive Sandy Alderson as the president of the Mets helped mitigate the concerns of several owners. Martino pointed out that while all owners weren’t thrilled with Cohen owning the Mets, they took comfort in the fact that historically, Alderson had voiced concerns about out of balance spending trends of a few high profile baseball teams. Oh well.

Now Correa, 28, joins a list of New York Mets players with extensive financial contracts. The list includes:

Max Scherzer, 38, who signed a 3-year, $130M contract that lasts from 2022-2024

Justin Verlander, 39, who signed a 2-year, $88.66M contract from 2023-2024

Francisco Lindor, 29, who signed a 10-year, $341M contract from 2022-2031

Brandon Nimmo, 29, who signed an 8-year, $162M contract from 2023-2030

Starling Marte, 34, who signed a 4-year, $78M contract from 2022-2025

Edwin Diaz, 28, who signed a 5-year, $102M contract from 2023-2027

Kodai Senga, 29, who signed a 5-year, $75M contract from 2023-2027

Conclusions:

New York Mets owner Steven Cohen has changed the financial landscape of Major League Baseball. His seemingly unlimited financial resources have to be a cause for concern among his fellow owners and the entire professional baseball community.

While Mets fans rejoice at recent Mets signings and spending, one has to wonder when the rubber band will be stretched too far…and break. When does the balloon get too much air… and pop?