Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is excited to compete against star-studded Mets: “I think having two great New York sports teams is phenomenal”

Hal Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, thinks it's "wonderful" that the Mets are improving after surpassing 100 victories last season, but he said that their spending needs to be "looked at" when they signed Carlos Correa to a record-breaking contract.

The Mets' spending binge reached a peak on Tuesday when they reportedly signed the infielder to a 12-year, $315 million contract. As a result, the team's payroll under owner Steve Cohen will be enormous in the upcoming season.

The Mets' projected 2023 payroll is $384 million, but ESPN estimates that $111 million in MLB luxury taxes will increase Cohen's cost to a staggering $495 million.

"Hal Steinbrenner relishes facing the Mets in 2023 after Yankees rival signs Carlos Correa," - Proximaa24

Hal Steinbrenner embraces facing the Mets now

Hal Steinbrenner was quoted as saying that this year will be fantastic for both New York teams. He believes it's terrific for the city and the fans. They were great teams last year; it just didn't work out for a variety of reasons.

Nobody should have to go to spring training believing that their team has no chance of making the playoffs, regardless of which team they support. That's just bad for the game, in my opinion.

Because of this, all the owners have tried to improve the competitive balance over the past ten years, and in my opinion, it is now much better than it was 10 or 15 years ago. However, Hal Steinbrenner has made some accusations against Mets owner Steve Cohen for spending too lavishly.

"I think it's something to be looked at...nobody should have to go into spring training thinking their team has no chance of making the playoffs," - WFAN660

Correa, who hit .291 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in Minnesota last season, is reportedly being signed by the Mets, who also recently granted big contracts to Justin Verlander and Brandon Nimmo. Verlander was offered a two-year, $86.6 million contract to leave the Astros, while Nimmo received an eight-year, $162 million deal to stay with the franchise.

For their part, the Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million deal, which is the third-highest yearly value after pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer of the Mets. In addition to adding Carlos Rodon to their already strong pitching rotation, they were able to re-sign Aaron Judge to a highly lucrative contract. It would be interesting to see how the conflict over New York develops in 2023.