New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler seemed to disagree with team owner Steve Cohen about the club needing “one more hitter” now that Carlos Correa isn’t an option.
“I think we have a strong and deep lineup,” Eppler said during a Tuesday news conference related to the signing of catcher Omar Narvaez and reintroduction of reliever Adam Ottavino, per Danny Abriano of SNY. “I’m confident in our group’s ability to score runs. This goes without saying, and I think I’ve said it in the past — relating to any one of the areas of the organization — you can always be better.”
Eppler repeated the Mets “can always be better” despite already having a strong lineup.
After Correa’s 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants collapsed due to the flagging of an old injury in physicals, Cohen swooped in and offered the All-Star shortstop $315 million over 12 years.
“We needed one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told Jon Heyman of the New York Post back on Dec. 21. “This was important … This puts us over the top.”
Cohen continued at that time: “I felt like our pitching was in good shape. We needed one more hitter. This puts us over the top.”
Correa was set to play third base next to Francisco Lindor for the Mets until they also reportedly grew worried about surgery the 28-year-old underwent in 2014 to repair a fractured right fibula and a ligament. In the end, Correa re-signed with the Minnesota Twins.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Eppler wouldn’t get into specifics regarding the Correa saga due to “privacy reasons as well out of respect to Carlos.” The executive also said he is “still engaged in the market” about potentially adding another bat via free agency or a trade.
As shared by ESPN, the Mets finished the 2022 regular-season second overall with a .259 team batting average, tied for fifth with 772 runs scored and sixth with a .744 team OPS. They won 101 games but finished second in the National League East standings behind the Atlanta Braves and then fell to the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round of the postseason tournament.
