When Steve Cohen became owner of the New York Mets in 2020, he immediately wanted to make a splash in free agency and sign as many good players as possible.
The Mets were involved in almost every high-profile player's negotiations and did land some star power to begin his tenure.
Then, someone with World Series and playoff pedigree became available after the 2022 season when Carlos Correa hit the open market after leaving the Houston Astros.
While New York didn't sign him that offseason, they had another crack at him late December 2022 when Correa opted-out following his first year with the Minnesota Twins.
It looked like the star shortstop was heading to the San Francisco Giants on a 13-year, $350 million contract, but they had some issues with his physical and wanted to renegotiate the deal.
The Mets swooped in and offered a 12-year, $315 million, but also found issues with his physical and only wanted to make six years of the contract guaranteed.
Correa's agent, Scott Boras, went back to the Twins and they signed a six-year, $200 million deal with vesting options that could get it up to $270.
New York missed out on landing a star.
But, they might have also avoided handing out a potentially nightmare contract according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report.
"Even if the medical history concerns didn't exist, Correa posted the lowest WAR of his career in 2023, struggling to get into any sort of groove and missing time late in the year while dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot ... if he doesn't perform at anything close to an All-Star level over the course of the next two seasons, Minnesota could be forced to deal with a disaster that both San Francisco and New York managed to avoid," he writes.
The concern with handing out that many years to the star shortstop directly stems from his lower right leg that has been surgically repaired.
Despite entering his age 29 season in 2024, having Correa on the Mets' books until he was 40 years old could have caused a massive problem if he continued his decline.
Like Miller pointed out, the former Rookie of the Year posted his career-worst slash line last season, hitting .230/.312/.399. His 94 OPS+ was his worst since the COVID-shortened season in 2020.
There are real concerns with Correa moving forward, despite being incredible for Minnesota during their playoff run in 2023.
So, while it was disappointing for New York not to land the star at the time, it might have been better for them in the long run.
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