NEW YORK — Steve Cohen’s boldness in fortifying the Mets knows no apparent bounds. Having already committed nearly half a billion dollars in payroll to improve the team this winter, Major League Baseball’s richest owner shocked the industry early Wednesday morning by agreeing to terms on a 12-year, $315 million deal with infielder Carlos Correa, a source told MLB.com.
The deal is not yet official and is pending a physical, which is an important distinction. The Mets have not confirmed the agreement.
The New York Post was first to report that Correa and the Mets had come to terms on a deal, mere hours after the shortstop’s 13-year, $350 million contract with the Giants fell apart over apparent medical concerns. That gave Cohen, who is on vacation in Hawaii, a window to slip through and reopen negotiations with Correa.
“We need one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen the Post. “This was important … This puts us over the top. This is a good team. I hope it’s a good team!”
As late as Tuesday morning, the Giants were expected to finalize their deal with Correa, a two-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall Draft pick who had negotiated with the Mets, among other teams, before agreeing to move to San Francisco. But the Giants abruptly cancelled Correa’s press conference over a medical concern that arose during his physical, according to multiple reports. That allowed the Mets to make Correa the new centerpiece of an offseason overhaul that has seen Cohen approve the acquisition of numerous players to improve the Mets.
Among Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, Omar Narváez, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson and now Correa, Cohen has committed $806.1 million to free agents this winter.
Cohen, a hedge-fund manager worth a reported $17 billion according to Forbes figures, had already blown past MLB’s highest Competitive Balance Tax threshold ($293 million) before the Correa agreement. He is now set to spend over $350 million on his 2023 payroll alone, plus more than $50 million in luxury tax. (The Mets will be required to pay a 90 percent tax on anything above $293 million.) That will increase Cohen’s total outlay for next season to well above $400 million.
Cohen hopes he has created a super-team that can instantly compete for World Series titles. A natural shortstop, Correa is expected to slide over to third base to accommodate Francisco Lindor, who signed his own $341 million megadeal two offseasons ago. Incumbent third baseman Eduardo Escobar will likely head to the bench.
What concerned the Giants about Correa’s physical isn’t publicly known, but various reports have indicated it’s unrelated to the back issue that sidelined him for 36 games in 2018. Still just 28 years old, Correa has appeared in 89 percent of his team’s games the past three seasons.
At his best, Correa is a game-changing shortstop boasting both power — he’s averaged 21 homers per season not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign — and Gold Glove-caliber defense. He is easily the most impactful offensive piece the Mets have added since Lindor, who like Correa is a Puerto Rican native. The move gives the Mets one of baseball’s deepest lineups including those two, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte and Nimmo, to go along with one of its top pitching staffs.