The Mets actually did something right this year (seriously)

To say that the 2023 season for the New York Mets has been a dumpster fire is an insult to dumpster fires. After a great 2022 and an influx of free agents and young players, many fans were thinking that the Amazin’s would finally bring a World Series title back to Queens for the first time in 37 years.

Then the season started. Pretty quickly it became apparent that this team wouldn’t be able to meet any lofty postseason goals. And the trade deadline proved that they were, indeed, having a fire sale, despite the words coming out of the mouth of their GM.

After paying big bucks to land Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the Mets then proceeded to pay big bucks to get them out of town. Fun fact: The Mets will end up paying Verlander about $35.5 million this year and next, which equates to around $372,000 per inning he pitched for them. Here’s another fun fact: Thanks to luxury tax payments and what they’ve paid to get rid of players, the Mets are spending about $210 million in dead money, which would rank as the 14th highest payroll in MLB.

It turns out, though, that things actually could’ve been worse for the Mets this year. How? They came very close to signing Carlos Correa. Remember him? He was the Minnesota Twins' All-Star shortstop who, after coming off a fantastic 2022 season, was one of the most prized free agents on the market this past winter.

Correa was all set to sign a 13-year, $350 million contract with the San Francisco Giants before the deal fell through nearly at the last minute due to concerns over Correa’s ankle. Then the Mets swooped in and offered him $315 million over 12 years – only for the deal to also fall through due to concerns over his ankle. As the Mets tried to renegotiate, Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, went back to the Twins, who eventually re-signed him for six years and $200 million.

Based on what Correa’s been doing for Minnesota, it is very possible that he would’ve made things even worse for the Mets. While he finished 2022 with a .291 batting average, as of this writing, Correa is hitting a paltry .226 for the 2023 campaign. Plus, he’s on pace to strike out over 150 times, which would be a career high. He also leads the American League in double plays grounded into.

If this is the new normal for Correa, the Mets will look like geniuses for not signing him. But, because this is the Mets we’re talking about, there’s a good chance that this year is a fluke and he’ll return to his All-Star ways and perhaps end up winning an MVP award or two.