What Loss of Carlos Correa Means for New York Mets

After talks went south between the two sides due to medical concerns about his right ankle, the Mets lost Carlos Correa to the Minnesota Twins in a six-year, $200 million deal.

All of a sudden, after billionaire owner Steve Cohen spent all of his money this offseason, roughly $576 million on a slew of players, the Mets are left with very little.

The Mets’ luxury tax payroll is around $363 million, however, they are returning the same lineup from a season ago that failed in the bottom half of the season and in the Wild Card round.

New York re-signed center fielder Brandon Nimmo to an eight-year, $162 million deal and exercised DH Daniel Vogelbach’s $1.5 million club option. By keeping this duo and losing Correa, the Mets have their identical lineup going back to 2023.

Now, unless top prospects Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty emerge as viable hitting options in the big leagues this season, which could happen but can’t be relied upon, the Mets will need to acquire a bat before the trade deadline.

Unlike last season, the Mets can’t afford to screw up at the deadline. That’s because they have a 40-year-old Justin Verlander and a 39-year-old Max Scherzer at the top of their rotation, which means they’re in win-now mode.

So losing Correa was a tough blow because it was the move that put the Mets offense over the top. Without him, they appear to be a little short, as they were at the end of last season, despite finishing in the top five in runs scored.

By not signing Correa, the Mets are still in good shape, having assembled close to the same team that won 101 games. But on the other hand, they lost the drive to put them in the lead when Correa flipped for Minnesota.

Correa would have solved a lot of problems offensively, but now Eduardo Escobar will remain the Mets’ starting third baseman until Baty is ready.

What the loss of Correa means exactly is that the prospects need to step up this season, or the Mets need to acquire an impact bat at the deadline.

The prospects will likely get their shot to prove themselves in the first half, but if they struggle, the Mets will have to pull the trigger on a big bat via trade.

Read more:

– Mets show interest in Zack Britton

– Carlos Correa Bolts talk with Mets to sign Twins

– Mets sign Tim Locastro to Minor League deal

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