How much have the New York Mets spent so far?: What does their 2023 lineup look like?

News that a medical issue might scupper the Carlos Correa deal was broken with trepidation. These things are not uncommon in the world of sports contracts, and in the end can be wind up being nothing, being something, or being earth shattering. In this case, it turned out to be the latter.

The Giants released a statement saying that they could not divulge medical details, but “there was a difference of opinion over the results of Carlos’ physical examination.”

Just hours after Correa’s introduction was delayed over this “medical concern”, the Mets came to an agreement with Correa and his agent Scott Boras for a 12-year, $315 million deal that gives the Puerto Rican shortstop nearly the same annual average value as the Giants deal, on just one year less duration.

While it may seem like cloak-and-dagger stuff going on behind closed doors, the reality is that Scott Boras is extremely good at his job. Representing the biggest names who have signed the biggest contracts in baseball over recent years, Boras leaves no stone unturned, no owner unsqueezed, no bill unpaid.

This deal would have been made, ready to go should the Giants fall through, weeks ago. Boras would have had the Mets ready to sign and waiting, and the truth is, there will be a third team behind them as well. Because that is what agents do.

Before you feel sorry for the owners, seeing them get taken to the cleaners by Boras, it is worth pointing out that Mets owner Steve Cohen has publicly gone on record saying that he will spend any money at all to have a winning team. He is happy to be squeezed, just so long as there is a pennant at the end of it all.

So the Mets have gone all-in this winter, but just how much are the Mets actually on the hook for? Correa’s $315 million takes the overall spend by Cohen and the Mets this winter to $806.1 million.

What kind of lineup might the Mets have?

This move certainly gives New York a strong lineup, perhaps the strongest in baseball, on paper at least. While you may argue that the middle infield in Philly could be stronger, or the Dodgers outfield will cover better, it is difficult to find a team that has covered so much of the field with so much talent.

Every team has a hole in their lineup, from Houston sacrificing a bat to have Martín Maldonado behind the plate, to the Braves betting on their bullpen to the expense of sacrificing bats. Most try and address these holes, and generally do a passable job at keeping the ship upright, unless you are Oakland, in which case you launch the lifeboats and watch them immediately sink.

But with the possible exception of the San Diego Padres, no team has managed to pull together such a comprehensive squad of hitters and fielders as the Mets.

One iteration of this lineup might be:

It is worth noting however, that alongside Nido, the Mets also have James McCann and Omar Narváez who could both provide a better bat than he does at the catcher position.

In any case, the most likely scenario will see Correa move over to third base, leaving Lindor at shortstop, a positioning that the two have used before very successfully on the Puerto Rico national team.

With the Mets visibly flagging at the end of the summer, dropping a 10.5 game lead in the NL East to finish runner-up to the Braves, Cohen is fielding a team who will have the kind of lasting power needed to carry them into October. And at the kind of money that he is spending, he may have just done that.