NEW YORK METS IN BUSINESS

While the New York Mets had to deal with the loss of 2-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom in a six-year pact he signed with the Texas Rangers, they concentrated on signing up future of Hall of Fame and 3-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and resigning centerfielder Brandon Nimmo after a quick early signing of stellar relief pitcher Edwin Diaz.

That was their intention and owner Steve Cohen, the wealthiest of professional franchises, went right along with it. Verlander, who will be 40 in February, inked a 2-year deal of $86 million after compiling an 18-4 record and again leading Major League Baseball in earned run averages at 1.75. while striking out 185 in 28 starts.

Diaz also signed a two-year contract and is no doubt the Majors’ leading reliever.

Nimmo, a free agent from Wyoming who mastered the centerfield position, became a five-star lead-off batter with more power, and who sprayed hits to all gaps as well as taking the extra base, was a popular choice and signed a 6-year contract that totaled $138 million.

All three had the same reaction. Diaz said he was very happy to remain with the Flushing Queens tenants, Verlander and his supermodel wife Kate Upton agreed to relocating to New York, and Nimmo said he heard other offers but that he had no intention of signing elsewhere. He is the only Major League player from Wyoming in a state that doesn’t have high school baseball programs.

“I’m a Met,” he said, “and very happy to remain a Met.”

The signing of Verlander reunites him with another 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, now 39, as what easily becomes the Citi. Field one-two starters. They had been teammates for four seasons with the Detroit Tigers.

Upton, who in game five of the World Series in Philadelphia flashed the Philly fans a shooting the bird, and after the signing, seriously said she and Justin were 100 percent overjoyed in becoming Mets. Upton boasts more than 6 million followers in Instagram alone and one of the most followed models on the globe.

With deGrom gone, the Mets now need to fill the rest of their starting staff. Currently there’s right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Tyler Megill and 6-6 southpaw David Peterson. Righty Chris Bassitt is a free agent on the Mets’ list, and they lost former starter Taijuan Walker when he recently signed on with the Phillies. The Mets are also still very much interested in starter Kodai Senga, and he’s been one of the better righthanders in Japan.

Cohen and staff also signed another good hurler in former Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Quintana, who signed a 2-year pact, then acquired lefty reliever Brooks Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league pitcher Keyshawn Aakew. As for Raley, he’s coming off a career-best for the Rays when he posted a 2.68 ERA in 53.2 innings. His main strength cones against lefthanded hitters who are hitting only .166 facing him.

The move to acquire Raley is a big lift for the Mets’ bullpen as he joins Diaz, Drew Smith and Tommy Hunter, while the Mets also added 38-year-old righthanded reliever David Robertson to a one-year deal, and he’s been one of the better bullpen relievers.

As the money flows, Cohen is true to form after growing up in Long Island as a Mets’ die-hard. He has done everything so far to make the blue and orange fans happy.