Correa to Mets

[cHawk]

While we all previously thought Correa and the San Francisco Giants were going to be allied for over a decade, in a shocking and unexpected twist Correa has agreed to a 12-year, $315M deal with the New York Mets, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

*sigh* if only we could’ve been the team to swipe him away

[weitz41]

The Mets are going to have a payroll of the next two highest spending teams combined at this rate..

[Richie the Rally Goat]

30 minutes ago, cHawk said:

While we all previously thought Correa and the San Francisco Giants were going to be allied for over a decade, in a shocking and unexpected twist Correa has agreed to a 12-year, $315M deal with the New York Mets, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

*sigh* if only we could’ve been the team to swipe him away

Correa won’t even be the SS…. Makes you wonder what might have been….

[wabene]

$380m payroll? I did the math and a tap beer at the Met's ballpark comes in at $75. Makes ya thirsty don't it? 

[Steve71]

I will simply refer readers to the "Baseball Remains Broken" thread on the Other Baseball folder.

Cohen does not give a rip about luxury taxes, which establishes convincingly that a luxury tax does absolutely nothing to promote parity in MLB.

Correa's latest move shows he was interested in both Dior money combined with a big market and a championship-caliber team.  Minnesota is none of those, and likely never will be with the way MLB runs its business.

If this latest move doesn't make it hard to root for a small or mid-market team, I am not sure what does.  Payroll for the Mets plus taxes now almost $400M.  We have teams around $50M.  How can that possibly compute?

MLB needs its Pete Rozelle.

[tony&rodney]

41 minutes ago, Steve71 said:

MLB needs its Pete Rozelle.

They certainly do. It is easily the worst run of the four major entertainment sporting leagues in the United States. From the shenanigans in Latin America with teenagers through the minor leagues up to the inequities at the major league level, MLB is a shady business.

[mac098]

46 minutes ago, Steve71 said:

If this latest move doesn't make it hard to root for a small or mid-market team, I am not sure what does.  Payroll for the Mets plus taxes now almost $400M.  We have teams around $50M.  How can that possibly compute?

This right here is what is wrong with Baseball right now. Teams that can shell out money and be fine with paying the taxes are going to continue doing this until there is a stop. From my understanding, Baseball is the only sport of the 4 major American sports (Hockey, Football, Basketball, and Baseball) that doesn't have a salary cap or max contracts. This getting way outta hand now. Teams like the Twins will never be able to compete with teams that are willing to spend money even if their taxes take them close to $1 Billion. Yes, I understand the Mets are in "Win now" mode because of their severe drought of a WS and Post-season play, but this is getting ridiculous. 

These are the things that make me not want to watch baseball anymore. Its tough to stomach your team that struggles to get a single All-Star, whereas teams like the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, and Astros have an entire team of them only because they purchased those players off the market and were willing to spend $500mil per year for it.

Sorry, rant over.

[4twinsJA]

Hope Mets win 120 games this year and sweep playoffs and WS. Maybe that would motivate MLB to make some meaningful changes.

[Otto von Ballpark]

This is triple insanity.

A team backing out of a $350 mil contract agreement?

Another team signing the player for over $300 mil, at a position where they've already signed another player for over $300 mil just last year?

That team also spiking to ~$380 mil in annual payroll?

[gman]

Right now I am not missing Correa as a Twin. He is not worth $315mil as a third baseman. He's not that good a hitter. I guess playing shortstop was not all that important to him.

[talkintwins]

This might be unpopular, but the Twins reportedly weren't in the conversation for signing Correa the 2nd time around. They weren't close the first time ($65M less, best offer was lower than $300M), so really, why would they have been approached with a 2nd chance? From what we know at this moment, Boras reportedly didn't go back to them. Twins were no longer in the running, simple as that. It's unfortunate & Correa would have been great to have back, but Twins still have a solid foundation of youth that we somewhat take for granted and that other teams don't have.

In the meantime, we'll find out if Steve Cohen's aggressive spending & retooling pays off. Baseball is more fun when there's a villain to root against.

[MMMordabito]

Gift ideas to send to 41 Seaver Way:

The albatross diet is predominantly cephalopods, fish, crustaceans, and offal (organ meat), although they also scavenge carrion and feed on other zooplankton. (source = wikipedia)

[kydoty]

Mets take the field song before the first pitch.
 

https://youtu.be/2_JTzEppKy8

[CRF]

I grew up in the NY/New Jersey metro area, and loved the Mets. Moved here in my mid 20's and I've been here for over 40 years now. I'm a die hard Twins fan, and I will be until the day I die. Even so, I still follow the Mets and I was very happy that the Wilpon's finally sold to Steve Cohen. I knew that would change the way they approached spending, and would let them compete with the effing Yankees. Unfortunately, they've gone too far and I think they're out of control. The way they're spending on FA's is ridiculous. Something needs to be done about it. 

[talkintwins]

The fact that baseball doesn't force owners to meet a required payroll floor suggests the sport simply doesn't care about parity. It's a business first, a sport second. Fairness across the league is something only fans care about.

Cohen's doing what an owner is allowed to do, but many choose not to. The Pirates, A's, Reds, etc. barely spend - establishing a minimum floor like the NBA should have happened long ago. That would add more teams to the mix and at least move closer to parity than any system which doesn't require teams to spend above a certain amount.

The players are receiving huge contracts because the money exists. Owning a baseball team is apparently more lucrative than some believe. Until MLB's record-level profits & money-flow are made transparent, any talk of a spending cap is a bit premature. There's a lot of money in the sport right now. Address the cheapskates first.

[Longdistancetwins]

23 minutes ago, CRF said:

I grew up in the NY/New Jersey metro area, and loved the Mets. Moved here in my mid 20's and I've been here for over 40 years now. I'm a die hard Twins fan, and I will be until the day I die. Even so, I still follow the Mets and I was very happy that the Wilpon's finally sold to Steve Cohen. I knew that would change the way they approached spending, and would let them compete with the effing Yankees. Unfortunately, they've gone too far and I think they're out of control. The way they're spending on FA's is ridiculous. Something needs to be done about it. 

Out here in New York, I agree.  Signing the guy to play third base since they already have a superior shortstop?  Of course, it reminds one of A-Rod signing with the Yankees to play third base.  (Not suggesting here that Carlos is A-Rod; but it is surprising that the money meant more than aspiring to be the best shortstop in baseball).  Maybe he does have a physical issue that he worries about.  

[bap3141]

4 hours ago, Steve71 said:

I will simply refer readers to the "Baseball Remains Broken" thread on the Other Baseball folder.

Cohen does not give a rip about luxury taxes, which establishes convincingly that a luxury tax does absolutely nothing to promote parity in MLB.

Correa's latest move shows he was interested in both Dior money combined with a big market and a championship-caliber team.  Minnesota is none of those, and likely never will be with the way MLB runs its business.

If this latest move doesn't make it hard to root for a small or mid-market team, I am not sure what does.  Payroll for the Mets plus taxes now almost $400M.  We have teams around $50M.  How can that possibly compute?

MLB needs its Pete Rozelle.

All other teams should be outraged by this spending spree. But it won't be until the Dodgers and Yankees are that anything will change. And I see them more likely to join the fray - especially with Ohtani on next year's market.

 

And really what would MLB do about it anyway? Another work stoppage.? I dunno what's worse for PR. That or allowing super duper market teams to outspend the rest of the league.

 

They're hurting the game and they don't care. I hope the Mets get bit by the injury bug and/or team chemistry woes in 2023 and miss the playoffs.

 

$807M is beyond ridiculous.

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, talkintwins said:

The fact that baseball doesn't force owners to meet a required payroll floor suggests the sport simply doesn't care about parity. It's a business first, a sport second. Fairness across the league is something only fans care about.

Cohen's doing what an owner is allowed to do, but many choose not to. The Pirates, A's, Reds, etc. barely spend - establishing a minimum floor like the NBA should have happened long ago. That would add more teams to the mix and at least move closer to parity than any system which doesn't require teams to spend above a certain amount.

The players are receiving huge contracts because the money exists. Owning a baseball team is apparently more lucrative than some believe. Until MLB's record-level profits & money-flow are made transparent, any talk of a spending cap is a bit premature. There's a lot of money in the sport right now. Address the cheapskates first.

The NFL makes more than any other league  but they refuse to emulate them. Why? A hard cap of $250 million with a floor of $125 million would still allow some disparity without it being absurd.

[Steve71]

Someone needs to craft a plan that has a hard cap, a hard floor, revenue sharing AND that the MLBPA also endorses, by guaranteeing a certain percentage of income goes to the players.  More money needs to be going to talented younger players who risk having their careers shortened by injury, and less to a handful of superstars all living in the big media markets.

[jctwins]

3 hours ago, howeda7 said:

The NFL makes more than any other league  but they refuse to emulate them. Why? A hard cap of $250 million with a floor of $125 million would still allow some disparity without it being absurd.

The NFL makes more than any other league in part because they largely treat their players as disposable. Both during and after their careers. The owners are too powerful in the NFL, and the concentration among too few players is probably too high in MLB, but if MLB could get their revenue channels figured out (which they are remarkably inept at), they could be the model of balance.

 

 

[Major League Ready]

5 hours ago, bap3141 said:

All other teams should be outraged by this spending spree. But it won't be until the Dodgers and Yankees are that anything will change. And I see them more likely to join the fray - especially with Ohtani on next year's market.

 

And really what would MLB do about it anyway? Another work stoppage.? I dunno what's worse for PR. That or allowing super duper market teams to outspend the rest of the league.

 

They're hurting the game and they don't care. I hope the Mets get bit by the injury bug and/or team chemistry woes in 2023 and miss the playoffs.

 

$807M is beyond ridiculous.

We all knew the disparate revenue/spending was a problem going into the last CBA.  I could be wrong, but didn't the league propose a more aggressive luxury tax and keeping the threshold to a modest increase.  The players held on were ready to strike if they did not get a significant increase in the threshold and more modest penalties.  At least that's how I remember it.  I didn't want a strike but the writing was on the wall for the gap to widen.   The league should have insisted on measures that at least held the disparity at previous levels.  They allowed it to get worse and fans supported it in general because we did not want to go without baseball.

[jorgenswest]

I trust that the Giants saw something that made them pause. I am now glad he didn’t end up with the Twins. The Mets might get be able to risk a massive contract on a player with health questions. The Twins can’t take that risk.

[solomon1930]

1 hour ago, jorgenswest said:

I trust that the Giants saw something that made them pause. I am now glad he didn’t end up with the Twins. The Mets might get be able to risk a massive contract on a player with health questions. The Twins can’t take that risk.

It was fun watching him last season but I'm glad the Twins didn't commit that much for one player.

 

 

[jctwins]

2 hours ago, jorgenswest said:

I trust that the Giants saw something that made them pause. I am now glad he didn’t end up with the Twins. The Mets might get be able to risk a massive contract on a player with health questions. The Twins can’t take that risk.

Don't worry the FO will be sure to take credit for avoiding this mistake.

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, jctwins said:

Don't worry the FO will be sure to take credit for avoiding this mistake.

Why should I care or worry about whether or not they take credit? 

[bap3141]

I'm not assuming they "dodged a bullet" any more than I'm assuming the Giants simply has buyer's remorse.

 

I read somewhere today that the Giants did intend to renegotiate and then went quiet and the Mets swooped in.

 

If he doesn't pass the Mets' medicals, then, I think we have something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[talkintwins]

The online reaction seems to be that "if only" the Twins had increased their offer to $300M, then Correa would have chosen to return. Last I checked, $315M > $300M, $285M, etc.

Some are overlooking that these are guaranteed contracts - the Twins could offer the highest AAV they want, but the highest overall value is all that matters with a "rest of career" contract. Whether he plays all the years or not doesn't matter - he's getting that money. Mets were already $30M ahead of Twins. Cohen wasn't going to be outbid on the player he wanted - least of all by Minnesota.

Correa wasn't returning unless Twins offered the most money. Time to accept & move on. It was fun while it lasted. He was the best shortstop arm I've ever seen in person, and for a year, he played for the Twins. Not bad.

[ICTwin25]

15 hours ago, jctwins said:

The NFL makes more than any other league in part because they largely treat their players as disposable. Both during and after their careers. The owners are too powerful in the NFL, and the concentration among too few players is probably too high in MLB, but if MLB could get their revenue channels figured out (which they are remarkably inept at), they could be the model of balance.

 

 

To a certain degree, the MLB and NBA treat their players as disposable too. In baseball, you can still be productive when the athleticism starts to go away. That's very hard to do in the NFL and NBA. With the NBA, one player has a much bigger impact on the game because of 10 players being on the floor at one time. 

MLB is just way too old school with too many stupid rules and concepts. Arbitration is something I will never support or understand. They fail to use replay properly and continue to push against technology that would benefit the game like a robotic home plate ump to implement an actual strike zone.

With contracts, things are getting way too out of hand and that's because certain teams and owners don't care about luxury tax because they print money. I dont know if it will ever change, but it should

[bap3141]

As down as I have been feeling lately about the Twins' off-season, a quick glance over at San Francisco Giants Twitter makes me feel less bad. Man, those fans are (rightfully) ticked off.

[August J Gloop]

C4 had zero intention of staying on in the Twin Cities. He came here with every intent to rebuild his marketability as a media presence, to get his smiling face to a market with endorsement opportunities. The Bay area would work OK, but they did a dive into his medicals and found some buyers remorse. They knew they could get out of it by just playing a little chicken and counting on Boras to Boras all over the place. 

But let's be real here. This isn't about winning for anyone. Carlos Correa took less than 12 hours to decide that he's no longer a shortstop? The guy who went on MLB network to talk sabermetrics has no knowledge that at 3b, he's barely top 10? I mean sure, if all 9 of your players hit like Correa, you'd be gold. Comparing at 3rd though, CC's career average WRC+ is 130 and the projections have him at 131. Solid number, that places him tied for 8th last year with Eugenio Suarez. He's a solid player, but would you be offering 320 mm over 12 years for him? Correa's win value is that he does that good to sometimes great hitting as a good to great fielding shortstop. 

Obviously the Mets fans are excited for the All Star Spectacular Review that is the projected every day lineup, but Cohen didn't bring all these Big Names in to win. Hell, the overpaying is part of the product. They're there to sell jerseys, tv time and ad space. He's essentially pre-sold the 2023 season like it's a blockbuster movie. The Mets name is super hot right now and making tons of cash. That won't last, even if they win every chip for the next 10 years. But he bought a bad position that could be easily improved by the optics of winning.  I would bet they make 2x that contract in the first 2 years of Correa merch and ad sales. 

I suspect the FO knew this was CC's ultimate goal and put their very reasonable offer on the table. They knew he'd turn it down if his motivations were more than winning. I don't think anyone expected him to be so obvious about it. 

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by August J Gloop
Typos, as usual.