The monster deals happened so fast it’s easy to pinpoint winter winners already. There’s always the threat of a trade, but it’s possible the only real difference-making deal officially left to go regards superstar infielder Carlos Correa, and we’ve thought for a couple weeks we’ve known how that’s going to turn out — with Correa winding up in Queens. (Of course there’s no guarantee, and the incumbent Twins and others are standing by and monitoring, so the Mets’ position on the leaderboard gets a * for incomplete.)
The Winter Winners (Team Division)
1. Mets
Despite a pitching staff full of free agents, they put their fine team back together, even forming a comparable or slightly better rotation (we’ll take Hall-of-Fame-bound Justin Verlander over Jacob deGrom) before their middle-of-the -night surprise agreement with Correa became the cherry on top. “We needed one more thing, and this is it,” Mets owner Steve Cohen told The Post that night/morning (he was in Hawaii so it was still 8:45 pm for him). We agree.
2. Padres
Owner Peter Seidler is the West Coast smaller-market version of Cohen, transforming a team that was perennially among the bottom spenders. By signing Xander Bogaerts and more (re-signing Robert Suarez and Nick Martinez and importing Seth Lugo), they’ve done the near-impossible and made themselves favorites in a division dominated by the Dodgers, who won 111 games (LA helped by doing little this winter).
3. Cubs
Dansby Swanson gives Cubs fans the star they need. Plus, they fortified their rotation with the solid Jameson Taillon and made a nice high-reward bet on talented Cody Bellinger. They may yet add another reliever and possibly a bat but already upgraded their talent, and enhanced their clubhouse.
4. Phillies
Owner John Middleton and baseball president Dave Dombrowski rode free agency to a surprise World Series appearance, and further enhanced their outstanding lineup with Trea Turner and fine rotation with Taijuan Walker.
5. Yankees
They did what they had to do, bringing back record-setting superstar Aaron Judge plus his running mate Anthony Rizzo, then improved a rotation with rising lefty Carlos Rodon. He has an injury history, but he’s thrived in Yankee Stadium (2.16 career ERA).
6. Rangers
If deGrom is more reliable as a Ranger, they may contend. Plus, the deals for Corey Seager and Marcus Semien look more reasonable following this winter’s eye-popping contracts.
7. Angels
They are one major winner that didn’t crack the $100 million mark, and that takes doing. Jumping on Tyler Anderson for $40 million before the starter market exploded was smart.
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