It appears as though super agent Scott Boras pulled off his latest master class on how to dictate the free-agent market — this time for his client in star shortstop Carlos Correa.
Just a few hours before news broke that Correa signed a 13-year, $350 million deal to join the San Francisco Giants, multiple reports surfaced late Tuesday night that the Mets were showing interest in the 28-year-old two-time All-Star.
Whether or not that was a tactic to get the deal with San Francisco over the finish line or not, it appeared the Mets’ interest certainly helped.
That would be understandable if it were the case. The Mets had been linked with Correa even after going on a massive spending spree over the last 10 days that yielded the likes of Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and David Robertson while also re-signing Brandon Nimmo. Since Dec. 4 at the start of Winter Meetings, they’ve spent roughly $360 million.
With a salary cap that’s already hovering around $340 million — the highest we’ve ever seen in Major League Baseball — the notion remains that the Mets aren’t done big-game hunting. So, naturally, a player like Correa who reportedly expressed a past desire to shift to third base in order to play next to his Puerto Rican national team teammate Francisco Lindor was the latest option in Queens.
Whether or not the Mets are truly done making splashes remains unseen. While general manager Billy Eppler and owner Steve Cohen have addressed a litany of holes within the roster, some still remain.
The tandem of Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf remains a suspect platoon at the designated hitter spot while outfield depth behind Nimmo, Mark Canha, and Starling Marte is also a sizable question that could be addressed rather than forcing Jeff McNeil to shuttle between a corner-outfield spot and his natural position at second base.
