This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo's Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Mets owner Steve Cohen was vacationing in Hawaii on Tuesday when the first text message landed from Scott Boras, an agent with whom Cohen has developed a rapport since purchasing the Mets more than two years ago. 

“I called it, ‘Welcome to Correa-mas. This is your lucky day,’” Boras recalled of his message. “And I think Steve viewed it that way.” 

The text was designed to let Cohen know that Carlos Correa, the superstar shortstop who had recently agreed to a 13-year, $350 million megadeal with the Giants, could be heading back on the open market. Giants officials had become spooked by something they uncovered in Correa’s medical records, and Boras, holed up in a San Francisco hotel room to prepare for a 2 p.m. ET press conference, began to sense that they might not consummate the deal. 

When 1 p.m. rolled around and the Giants requested even more time to review Correa’s medicals, Boras informed them that he would need to reengage other teams.

Half an ocean away in Hawaii, Cohen received the text and became alert. He reached out to general manager Billy Eppler to discuss the situation and gather opinions. About a week earlier, Cohen and Eppler had engaged Boras on Correa, but the agent was so far down the road with the Giants that the deal never came close. Cohen regretted his lack of action, believing Correa to be the exact type of player who could legitimize New York’s title contention. So when Boras gave him a second chance, Cohen informed Eppler that he wanted the player. At some point, he spoke again to Boras and mentioned he was drinking a martini over dinner. 

“I said, ‘Do you have three olives for a great third baseman?’” Boras recalled. “That’s kind of how we began our process of working through this.”

• 5 takeaways from stunning Correa news

Around 10 p.m. Hawaii time, deep into the night on the East Coast, the sides reached agreement. In Hawaii, Cohen spoke to a New York Post reporter and called the deal “important.” In San Francisco, Correa entered Boras’ suite and playfully tackled his agent onto the bed. In New York, Eppler understood the magnitude of what he had just accomplished. 

Correa, who will play third base for the Mets, lengthens their lineup, provides another source of power and gives the Mets perhaps the finest defensive left side of the infield in MLB. When the deal becomes official (as soon as Friday, assuming team officials remain confident in Correa’s medicals), the Mets will become National League East favorites in the eyes of many. They’re almost certainly not done dealing this winter, but their most important roster additions -- Correa, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and others -- are now in place. All told, Cohen has committed $807.1 million to a group of 10 free agents, including Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo.

Cohen told the Post that he thinks it’s a good team, hopes it’s a good team. If nothing else, he has done everything possible to make it so.

“Every sport needs Goliaths, and they also need competitive leadership,” Boras said when asked about Cohen’s spending spree. “That renewed spirit, that ideology brought into the game is no different than what George Steinbrenner did back during the ‘90s, and what he brought to the game, what he brought to [the Yankees] and the results of it were obviously quite successful.”