The 5 worst current MLB contracts we're thankful the Mets avoided adding to the payroll

3) Carlos Correa

The biggest near-Met on this list is Carlos Correa. The team agreed to a deal worth over $300 million with the star shortstop with plans of having him be the third baseman. After the San Francisco Giants had already backed out of their offer, the Mets scurried to offer him a little less. Then some poor medicals had the two sides disagreeing on a new deal.

The original deal was reportedly for 12 years and $315 million. The final one was just six years and $157 million guaranteed.

He’d eventually end up earning a bit more on his six year deal worth $200 million to return to the Minnesota Twins. Using the word “earn” is being nice as Correa wasn’t so excellent in his first season.

In 2023, Correa batted .230/.312/.399. He grounded into a league-leading 30 double plays despite playing in only 135 games. Staying on the field was a problem for Correa during his time with the Houston Astros. He hasn’t been completely M.I.A. with the Twins, but less than 140 games twice and an IL stint already in 2024 should have us breathing a sigh of relief.

What’s more, the sudden maturity of Brett Baty as a major league third baseman makes this an expensive bullet we should be glad the team dodged. Correa is a fine player when healthy but gosh does earning over $30 million a year feel like it could even hamper a Steve Cohen-led club.