Invoice Madden: The place do Steve Cohen’s Mets stand after shifting on from Carlos Correa?

Now that Steve Cohen has efficiently gotten out from underneath his $315 million flight of fancy with Carlos Correa, there is no such thing as a method of actually understanding simply how a lot of a distinction the free-agent shortstop would have made for the Mets, who nonetheless want one other bat. Or as one high-level baseball exec put it to me the opposite day: “Do you suppose Cohen, in his lust for a star, ever stopped to suppose that Correa would’ve needed to hit sixth in his lineup? That he’d primarily be paying $300 million for a sixth-place hitter? That’s how insane some issues have gotten in baseball.”

In fact, as one other baseball exec requested just a few weeks in the past: “Since when did Carlos Correa grow to be a $300 million participant? What has he ever achieved to deserve that form of cash?”

Properly, he had two extra homers and 5 fewer RBI than Eduardo Escobar final season. He’s performed 150 video games in a season as soon as in eight years within the majors. He’s had one prime 10 MVP end — a fifth in 2021 when he gained his solely Gold Glove. He’s scored 100 runs as soon as. He doesn’t steal bases. He’s had greater than 30 doubles twice however by no means led the league in any offensive class, and final yr struck out twice as many occasions as he walked. All of which re-affirms the promoting energy of Correa’s agent Scott Boras, who after two failed physicals with the Giants and Mets, nonetheless managed to get six years and $200 million from the Twins for his shopper.

Conceivably Boras might have performed hardball with Cohen over Correa after the proprietor publicly proclaimed he had a take care of Correa earlier than the bodily was taken. However he has properly selected to not alienate the wealthiest proprietor in sports activities and sacrificed Correa for what he hopes will likely be many extra (richer) offers down the street.

So the place does all this now go away the Mets?

Consternating as this will likely appear for Cohen, regardless of spending over $500 million this offseason, the Mets might not be any higher than they have been final yr, and in reality, they may be the third-best workforce within the NL East behind the Braves and Phillies. The reason is most of that cash Cohen spent didn’t go towards bettering the Mets however fairly simply sustaining — as within the $102 million for Edwin Diaz, $162 million for Brandon Nimmo and the $86 million for Justin Verlander to interchange Jacob deGrom.

Against this, the Phillies’ $300 million funding in Trea Turner for shortstop vastly improved a place of want and in addition permits them to maneuver Bryson Stott to second base, additional solidifying their up-the-middle protection. Additionally they spent $72 million on Taijuan Walker, the Mets’ No. 4 starter final yr, and it’s going to be fascinating to see if the $75 million the Mets paid out for Japanese import Kodai Senga proves to be the higher funding.

On the similar time, Phillies President of Baseball Operations “Dealin’ Dave” Dombrowski moved aggressively to deal with the Phillies’ different weak spot — the bullpen — by buying and selling for the Tigers’ electrical however typically erratic lefty nearer Gregory Soto and signing Craig Kimbrel and lefty Matt Strahm as further again finish bullpen items. Whereas all of them have points, collectively they nonetheless determine to make the Phillies pen higher.

[ Mets fans still gloomy despite team having star-studded roster: ‘I think that that’s kind of in the DNA’ ]

I’ve a sense that Buck Showalter, who loves Escobar, was much more disillusioned on the Mets dropping out on Andrew McCutchen than the Correa deal blowing up. He noticed McCutchen, who re-signed with the Pirates, his outdated membership, Friday, as a veteran clubhouse presence who might’ve offered 15-20 homers as an additional outfielder/DH. Now the Mets will take one other have a look at Adam Duvall, simply two years faraway from main the Nationwide League RBI, however who strikes out method an excessive amount of.

Possibly, the lacking hyperlink energy bat Showalter is on the lookout for must come from inside within the particular person of Brett Baty, whose surgically repaired thumb will likely be monitored intently this spring. Consider it, there was no one extra elated by Correa deal going south than Baty, who feels his time has come. We will see.

[ Bill Madden: With weak Hall of Fame ballot, MLB looking at another shutout ]

Simply when embattled Purple Sox GM Chaim Bloom thought he’d quieted the indignant Fenway rabble by locking up Rafael Devers for $331 million over 11 years got here the information that Trevor Story was going to need to bear surgical procedure on his problematic elbow and can miss a very good portion of 2023. This solely served to remind of Bloom’s folly of signing Story within the first place to a six-year, $140 million deal final March. On the time, Story was the final of 5 pre-eminent shortstops, together with Carlos Correa and Corey Seager, to return off the board — for good cause as golf equipment have been rightfully involved about each his street statistics away from Coors Discipline and the diminished velocity in his throws. It was additionally a blatant assertion by the Purple Sox that they had no intention of re-signing Xander Bogaerts — a stance they reversed themselves on this winter however it was too late. There’s no getting across the reality Bloom has made a large number in Boston, and it’s going to take time for the Purple Sox to get better.  Even with the additions of Corey Kluber, Kenley Jansen, Josh Taylor and Japanese slugging prodigy Masataka Yoshida, the Purple Sox, who nonetheless don’t have any bona fide on a regular basis shortstop, determine to battle the Orioles for final place within the AL East. …

The Pirates’ signing of onetime franchise icon Andrew McCutchen shouldn’t be interpreted as a brand new willingness to commerce disgruntled heart fielder Bryan Reynolds. Phrase round baseball is Pirates proprietor Bob Nutting is steadfast about not acceding to Reynolds’ commerce request, which is why the Pirates are asking for everybody’s prime three prospects — because the Nationals have been in a position to get from the Padres for Juan Soto — which within the Yankees’ case would come with Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe. Downside is whereas Reynolds is a pleasant participant, he’s nowhere close to the expertise of Soto so it’s protected to say he’s not being traded.