The New York Mets stunned the baseball world on Wednesday when they swooped in and signed Carlos Correa away from the San Francisco Giants. The move was just the latest headline-making moment in a record-breaking offseason for the most expensive team in American professional sports.
The Mets entered this offseason needing to maintain the standard their 2022 roster set by winning 101 games and then somehow improve upon it. Hate it or love it, New York has done exactly that with the power of billionaire owner Steve Cohen’s unlimited bank account.
With the surprise signing of Correa on Wednesday — after his deal with the Giants fell apart — the team’s projected payroll for the 2023 season is $384 million. That is before they are reportedly taxed an extra $111 million next year for blowing by all the current payroll thresholds in the current collective bargaining agreement.
The big question now is was Cohen’s absurd spending on the seven contracts he handed out in MLB free agency this offseason worth it? Let’s take look at the various big moves the Mets made in the open market and hand out some grades for each.
