The New York Mets, backed by Major League Baseball’s highest 2024 payroll of $317 million, are participating in the National League Championship Series and battling the Los Angeles Dodgers for a spot in the World Series. They did so less than two years after turning down a 12-year, $315 million contract offer for baseball player Carlos Correa. Correa agreed to terms with the Mets on December 21, not long after the San Francisco Giants rescinded a $350 million offer for the star shortstop due to ankle injury concerns which he suffered in 2014. The ankle injury was also the reason why the Mets canceled the deal before Correa could sign, and that led to him signing a six-year, $200 million contract yell at Minnesota.

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At that point, Correa had played in 73% of his games with the Houston Astros from 2019 to 2021. In three seasons with the Twins, he had played in 357 of 486 regular-season games, i.e. is 73%. However, that number dropped after he was limited to 86 games in 2024 after being in the lineup for 83.6% of games in his first two seasons with the Twins. How did the Mets play at shortstop without Correa? First, not having Correa on the field allowed Francisco Lindor to continue as a blocker. The third baseman position was filled by Eduardo Escobar in 2022 and the Mets won 101 games. Escobar didn’t play well, but he wasn’t as bad as Brett Bady as a third baseman for the Mets, who slumped and missed the playoffs in 2023.

This season, the Mets have blossomed with the rise of 24-year-old Mark Vientos, who has hit .266 with an .837 OPS with 27 home runs and 71 runs scored in 111 games this season. If Correa had been with the Mets, Vientos might have been used as trade bait—the Mets tried to trade him, according to the New York Post before he had a chance to develop into a truly top-notch player. day.