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‘It’s great to have two great New York teams’: Hal Steinbrenner enjoys taking on Mets in 2023 as rival Yankees’ payroll approaches $500 million after Carlos Correa deal
- The Mets reportedly signed Carlos Correa to a 12-year, $315 million contract on Tuesday.
- And the team’s payroll is expected to be $495 million after MLB luxury taxes.
- But Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said his ambition was “great for the city.”
- For their part, the Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a $360 million mega-contract.
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Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner thinks it’s ‘great’ that the Mets continue to improve after surpassing 100 wins last season, but acknowledged their spending is ‘something to look at’ after they agreed to a mega-deal. with Carlos Correa.
The Mets’ offseason spending spree came to a head Tuesday when they reportedly signed the infielder to a 12-year, $315 million contract, and the team’s payroll under owner Steve Cohen will be huge next season.
According to ESPN, the Mets’ payroll is expected to be $384 million by 2023, though with $111 million in MLB luxury taxes, Cohen’s bill will actually be $495 million.
Hal Steinbrenner said the Mets and Yankees, both being strong teams, is ‘great for the city’
When asked about the Mets’ brazen spending Wednesday, Steinbrenner largely defended the Yankees’ cross-town rivals.
“It’s great to have two great teams from New York,” he said.
‘And we’re both going to be great this year. And we were great teams last year, it just didn’t work out for different reasons, but I think it’s great for the city and for the fans.
“Every fan of every team, no one should have to go to spring training thinking their team has no chance of making the playoffs. I mean that’s not good for the game.
“And that’s why all the owners have worked on the competitive balance in the last 10 years, and that’s why I think the competitive balance is considerably better than it was 10 or 15 years ago.”
Carlos Correa hit .291 with 22 home runs last season for the Minnesota Twins.
However, Steinbrenner suggested that the Mets’ spending was bordering on excessive.
“I was kidding someone before 10 years ago, you always heard me say you shouldn’t have a $200 million payroll to win a championship,” he said.
‘Well, I have modified it slightly. So you shouldn’t have a $300 million payroll to win a championship. Like most teams don’t. The Astros didn’t.
The Mets-reported signing of Correa, who hit .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in Minnesota last season, follows lucrative contracts they gave Brandon Nimmo and Justin Verlander.
Steve Cohen has spent big since taking control of the Mets in 2020
Nimmo was given an eight-year, $162 million deal to stay with the team, while Verlander was tempted to a two-year, $86.6 million deal to leave the Astros.
For their part, the Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million contract, which trails only Verlander and Mets pitcher Max Scherzer in annual value.
Both teams will begin spring training for the 2023 season in late February.