Expectations for Carlos Correa in 2023

I, like 99.9% of the fanbase, was absolutely stunned when I woke up to the news that Carlos Correa had agreed to a 12-year $315 million deal with the New York Mets in the early hours on Wednesday morning. As if the Mets already didn't have a target on their back, they can firmly be labeled as public enemy number one with this move, and it is officially World Series or bust with the addition of Correa.

Over the long term, Correa is going to be entrenched on the left side of the infield with Francisco Lindor for the next decade and he will be looked at as a cornerstone player moving forward. But if we are solely looking at expectations for Correa going into the 2023 season, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Mets fan who isn't expecting anything short of a potential MVP season.

The New York Mets shocked the baseball world with the signing of Carlos Correa and high expectations will now need to be met

Correa will have plenty of protection in the Mets lineup next season which is going to give him an ample amount of opportunities to drive in runs and put together an MVP-like campaign. While Correa has yet to win an MVP award, he has racked up plenty of accolades throughout his career including being a two-time American League All-Star, and American League Rookie of the Year, and in 2021 he won both a Gold Glove and was the Platinum Glove Award winner in large part to his elite defense.

FanGraphs is predicting Correa to have a slash line of .273/.353/.458 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI's and 30 doubles next season. I believe if he mirrors these numbers offensively, as well as continues playing elite defense, especially at the hot corner, and the Mets are on pace for a World Series appearance, I believe we would all agree that we got our money's worth in 2023.

I believe anything short of the numbers listed above would be a massive disappointment based on the financial investment that the Mets are making in Correa. For a team in win-now mode, there won't be too much room for him to slump under the radar as he will have a magnifying glass on his every move on the field for the next 12 years.

Correa seems to thrive under pressure and I don't anticipate it being too much of an adjustment period for him playing under the bright lights of New York City. The expectations will be sky high, and rightfully so, but if there were a handful of players in this league that I would trust to meet or exceed high expectations one of them would be Carlos Correa based on his track record.