Carlos Correa is a superstar. He brings to Queens a defensive acumen that ranks among the best in the game and, more importantly for the Mets, that clutch gene that Derek Jeter and several others have seen in these parts before.
Correa gives the Mets a star-packed roster rarely seen in the sport. But it’s very clear at this point who the biggest star of this team is.
That would be a certain Steven A. Cohen, and there is little debate on this point.
Cohen has gotten out financially like no one has before, and as almost no one could have imagined, he’s increased his winter bill to over $800 million, his payroll to about $400 million, and his personal tax bill to an unprecedented $100 million plus .
The Mets owner has some limitations, even if no one sees them at this moment. Stepping into the Correa derby about a week ago, he was hoping to lure the star to New York for “nearly $300 million.” When Correa’s 13-year $350 million Giants deal fell through on Tuesday, Cohen and Correa’s agent Scott Boras brokered the stunning $315 million deal in the middle of the night, slightly more than he had hoped to pay had.
“In the end, what the hell is the difference. If you’re trying to make a move, make the move,” Cohen told me over the phone from Hawaii. “If it’s (a few percent) percent more, what’s the difference?”
Mets owner Steve Cohen on April 15, 2022.Corey SIPKIN
The big difference is Cohen himself, who performs his new role in a very different way than everyone else before him. He is Steinbrenner squared.
The money is a consideration, but only a fleeting one. The losses are noticed, but mostly ignored. (They have to be massive, as revenue is estimated at around $500 million, and Cohen’s player spending alone, including taxes, will likely be north of that number once he’s done, and he’s not done yet.) On the priority list are those bottom line is below the bottom margin.
That’s not to detract from what Correa is bringing, and it’s significant.
Correa is one of the best postseason performers of this generation. He has a lifetime .849 OPS in the postseason and he’s hit 18 homers, which was Mickey Mantle’s all-time October record for years (before things changed with extended playoffs).
This is no small matter. The Mets screwed up last October after looking like one of the sport’s dynamos for seven months, losing at home to the San Diego Padres, a smaller West Coast version of Cohen’s Mets.
Defensively, Correa belongs to the absolute elite of the game with Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado. While he won’t hit with as much power as his old friend Alex Rodriguez, he will play a much leaner version of Third. He did so in the WBC, where he teamed with Francisco Lindor for Puerto Rico, who will retain his shortstop berth with the Mets, and is said to not mind changing positions in the slightest.
Correa also offers the Mets plenty of opportunities to improve the roster. Solid veteran Eduardo Escobar and top prospect Brett Baty now look like tempting trade lures. The Mets are said to be still working and presumably poised to expand a payroll that looks set to break their own record (tied with the Dodgers) by about $100 million.
Carlos Correa signed a 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets.Getty Images
While we haven’t heard from Correa yet, New York might be eyeing him as well. His camp attempted to attack the Yankees about 10 days ago when the Giants and officiating Twins appeared to be the only games in town.
That, of course, was before Cohen got involved and made not one, not two, but three calls to Boras, who had to tell him they were “down the road” with another team that turned out to be the Giants. A few days later, Cohen complained to me about being “late” and seemed to blame himself for missing an opportunity to capture a great player.
Cohen traveled to Hawaii on a working vacation the day before the scheduled Correa press conference. That was Tuesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. There was just one catch: he hadn’t passed the exam yet.
The presser was delayed when Giants doctors found something. Boras wouldn’t say what the problem was, only that it wasn’t his back, which was a problem earlier in his career, and that he and the Giants had “a disagreement” over the doctors’ findings.
It was expected but speculation wrong that either Correa or the Giants got cold feet. But sources indicate Giant’s doctors thought they saw something worrisome. In any case, Cohen promised to be opportunistic and this was his chance.
“We needed one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told me in the wee hours (it was actually only around 9pm there) from Hawaii.
“It really makes a big difference,” Cohen said. “I feel like our pitching was in good shape. We needed another bat. That puts us at the top.”
Of course we will see. But Correa is a huge asset. And what’s another $315 million?
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