PHILADELPHIA -- The Mets have shocked the baseball world. The Phillies like their chances anyway.

Mets owner Steve Cohen agreed early Wednesday morning to a 12-year, $315 million contract with Carlos Correa, pending a physical, less than 24 hours after the Giants planned to introduce Correa as their franchise cornerstone in San Francisco. Nobody saw it coming. But then, who could have predicted any of this?

The Mets, who won 101 games in 2022, have spent $807.1 million on nine free agent contracts this winter: Correa, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, Omar Narváez, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson and Danny Mendick. They have been the story of the offseason, even with the Phillies, who won the NL pennant, spending $387 million on Trea Turner, Taijuan Walker and Matt Strahm; and the Braves, who won the NL East, trading for catcher Sean Murphy from the A’s. 

(Atlanta still needs to find a replacement for shortstop Dansby Swanson.)

“It’s really been like that since last year,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said, referring to the eye-popping moves coming from the NL East since Cohen’s arrival. “When you look at the clubs and what they’re doing and what they’re adding, it’s a powerhouse division. I don’t want to downplay anybody, but if you’re going to win the National League East, you’re going to play really good baseball. It’s a gauntlet.”

Dombrowski was asked if the Phillies feel they need to respond to the Mets’ under-the-cover-of-night blockbuster. 

“No, no, no,” he said. “We’re always trying to put the best club you can on the field, we’re always trying to get better, but we like our club. There’s a lot of times you don’t have to be the top-spending club to be the best club. I feel really good about our club.”  

If the Phillies make any more moves before Spring Training, they will likely be in the bullpen. Maybe it’s a big-ticket reliever. Maybe it’s the 2023 version of Andrew Bellatti, who signed a Minor League deal in November 2021, then emerged as one of Rob Thomson’s most reliable relievers. 

“We really feel good with our foundation of Seranthony [Domínguez] and [José] Alvarado,” Dombrowski said. “We’ve got Strahm out there now. We like how [Connor] Brogdon has continued to grow. Bellatti did a really fine job for us. Then we’ve got [Nick] Nelson and [Sam] Coonrod coming back for us. We like some of our young arms, too. There’s an opportunity for them.”

Dombrowski has a feel for these things. He is the only head of a baseball operations to lead four different organizations to the World Series. He is one of only five general managers to win a World Series title with two different teams. The 1997 Marlins and 2018 Red Sox won the World Series. The 2006 and 2012 Tigers won the American League pennant. The Phillies won the 2022 NL pennant. 

Philadelphia won 87 regular-season games before rolling through the Cardinals, Braves and Padres to win the NL championship. Still, they were the final team to make the postseason. The Braves and Mets, meanwhile, each won 101 regular-season games.

But the Phillies believe they have closed the gap, even before they acquired Turner, Walker and Strahm. They went 65-46 (.586) under Rob Thomson, a 95-win pace and the fourth-best record in the league from June 2 through the end of the season.

“I think we’re a better club than we were last year already,” Dombrowski said. “We did play at that pace after the 22-29 start. We showed that we were capable of doing that. Then, of course, we showed that at the end of the year, too, when we were beating clubs with good winning records. You’re beating the best teams in baseball. 

“So when you say ‘close the gap,’ I think after the 22-29 mark we closed the gap. Then we’re a better club with the addition of Turner and Walker and Strahm. Every organization is different. The Phillies always had a lot of talent. We needed to learn how to win. They learned how to win, so now you have a different belief in yourself, starting off into the new year.”

Here are projected lineups for the NL East’s three heavyweights (when healthy):

Braves
1. Ronald Acuña Jr, RF (114 OPS+ last season)
2. Ozzie Albies, 2B (95 OPS+)
3. Austin Riley, 3B (142 OPS+)
4. Matt Olson, 1B (122 OPS+)
5. Michael Harris III, CF (135 OPS+)
6. Sean Murphy, C (120 OPS+)
7. Travis d’Arnaud, DH (119 OPS+)
8. Eddie Rosario (64 OPS+)/Jordan Luplow LF (79 OPS+)
9. TBD, SS

Mets
1. Brandon Nimmo, CF (130 OPS+)
2. Starling Marte, RF (132 OPS+)
3. Francisco Lindor, SS (125 OPS+)
4. Pete Alonso, 1B (146 OPS+)
5. Carlos Correa, 3B (140 OPS+)
6. Jeff McNeil, 2B (140 OPS+)
7. Mark Canha, LF (122 OPS+)
8. Daniel Vogelbach, DH (139 OPS+)
9. Omar Narváez, C (71 OPS+)

Phillies
1. Kyle Schwarber, LF (130 OPS+)
2. Trea Turner, SS (121 OPS+)
3. J.T. Realmuto, C (129 OPS+)
4. Bryce Harper, DH (145 OPS+)
5. Rhys Hoskins, 1B (122 OPS+)
6. Nick Castellanos, RF (95 OPS+)
7. Bryson Stott, SS (84 OPS+)
8. Alec Bohm, 3B (100 OPS+)
9. Brandon Marsh, CF (116 OPS+)