Yankees fans must be grateful to have avoided Carlos Correa drama

Some of you out there are holding out the most delusional of hope that the New York Yankees will swoop in and sign Carlos Correa as his ongoing contract dispute with the Mets, as the two sides apparently can’t get past the medical issue holding everything in limbo.

Per reports, Correa and agent Scott Boras have engaged with another team (the Minnesota Twins again) and the Mets are considering walking away from the 12-year, $315 million agreement.

What ended up being the coup of the offseason for the Mets has turned out to be negative storyline after negative storyline. Thankfully, Steve Cohen has made countless other earth-shattering moves to distract from what’s going on with Correa. To be honest, if any team can deal with such a distraction right now, it’s the Mets, who have the resources to pay for whatever they want and are coming off a 101-win season despite disappointing in the end.

This was always a bonus for the Mets and nothing more. They weren’t supposed to get Correa. But for the Yankees? At one point, it was believed (per the worst of rumors) Correa could’ve been the marquee signing alongside Aaron Judge. Now, imagine had they wasted all their time with this nonsense and missed out on Carlos Rodón?

It would’ve been an absolute nightmare for a front office that’s been questioned incessantly over the last few years. Let Correa, an unlikeable personality who only became a desirable target because of his free agency and the Yankees “vacancy” at shortstop, be somebody else’s problem.

Yankees are lucky to have avoided Carlos Correa drama this offseason

Correa’s situation put the final nail in the San Francisco Giants’ offseason coffin. It’s now frustrating Mets fans and putting a damper (though a very slight one) on Cohen’s wild west of an offseason. In the end, he’s shielded critics from the Mets’ roster deficiencies because he’s spent out the wazoo to shift everybody’s attention.

The Yankees? Their roster voids are still very much in question, especially since they’re reportedly working to remain under the $293 million luxury tax threshold. And regardless of how much the Mets spend, expectations are (and always will be) higher in the Bronx. The Yankees are under a microscope no matter the situation.

For all they’ve dealt with since coming a game away from the World Series in 2017, the last thing Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner needed after getting swept by the Astros in the ALCS was a PR crisis surrounding a pursuit of Correa — a former Yankee Killer and hater — with Boras’ silly remarks as more unpleasant background noise.

Yet … there are still fans trying to speak Correa to the Yankees into existence. Why? So the team can either place him at third base (out of position) or have him interrupt whatever long-term plans there are with Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza? You could’ve sold us on that plan last year, but not this offseason after the two top prospects took a massive leap and now that we’re in the second straight year of teams being concerned with Correa’s medicals (wonder why he didn’t get a long-term deal last year, eh?).

Leave it alone. Let Correa and Boras float in free agency until they take the best offer from a non-contender for the sake of making the absolute most money. Doesn’t need to be the Yankees problem. And we’re glad it never was.