Mark Vientos probably isn't starring for the Mets if Carlos Correa had signed

Sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't get done.

Oct 14, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) runs after hitting a grand slam home run in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The New York Mets, backed by Major League Baseball's highest 2024 payroll at $317 million, are in the National League Championship Series and fighting the Los Angeles Dodgers for a spot in the World Series. They're doing so less than two years after reneging on a 12-year, $315 million contract offer to shortstop Carlos Correa.

Correa agreed to terms with the Mets on Dec. 21, not long after the San Francisco Giants backed out of a $350 million offer to the star shortstop due to concerns about an ankle injury that he had suffered in 2014. The ankle was the same reason the Mets backed out of the agreement before Correa was able to put pen to paper, and that led him to signing a six-year, $200 million deal with Minnesota.

At the time, Correa had played in 73% of his games with the Houston Astros from 2019 to 2021. In three seasons with the Twins, he has played in 357 of 486 regular-season games, which is an identical 73%. That number, however, is deflated after he was limited to 86 games in 2024 after having been in the lineup for 83.6% of the games during his first two seasons with the Twins.

How have the Mets fared at shortstop without Correa? For starters, not having Correa on the field allowd Francisco Lindor to stay at shortstop. Third base was occupied by Eduardo Escobar in 2022 and the Mets won 101 games. Escobar wasn't great, but he wasn't as bad as Brett Bady was at third base for the Mets that slumped and missed the playoffs in 2023.

This season, however, the Mets have blossomed with the rise of 24-year-old Mark Vientos, who hit .266 with an .837 OPS on the back of 27 homers and 71 RBIs in 111 games this season. If Correa were with the Mets, Vientos might've been used as trade fodder — the Mets tried to trade him, according to the New York Post — before he was given a chance to develop into a really good everyday player.

In this year's playoffs, Vientos has been New York's best bat. He's slashing .378/.410/.676 with three homers and 11 RBIs, including a grand slam in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers. Those 11 RBIs are the most of any player in the majors during the 2024 postseason. His 25 total bases are second only to Fernando Tatis Jr. (26), and no player from the four remaining teams has a higher OPS than Vientos does at 1.086.

Bottom line: Vientos probably isn't on the field for the Mets if the Correa deal had gone through.

Meanwhile, Minnesota didn't have Correa when they needed him most as the Twins' 70-53 record on Aug. 17 crumbled to a 12-27 finish. Correa's ailing foot caused him to miss every game from July 13 to Sept. 13 and he played in just 11 games after the All-Star break. He was good when he played, but availability is often the most important stat and Correa wasn't there when the Twins were desperate.

Minnesota's collapse goes far beyond Correa, who has, overall, been a bright spot for the Twins as a stable clubhouse leader, elite defensive shortstop and a talented bat in a lineup filled with players who are prone to prolonged slumps, a la Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Max Kepler and Ryan Jeffers, among others.

There's no question that Correa is good for the Twins. But there's also no question that the Mets made the right decision by exiting the Correa sweepstakes in January 2022. Had they not, Vientos probably never would've had an opportunity to become an October hero like he has in New York.