The new collective bargaining agreement included a new penalty tier for teams that exceed the luxury tax ($230MM this season) by more than $60MM. This tier was almost immediately nicknamed “the Steve Cohen tax,” in regards to how the Mets owner has been willing to spend to the utmost on upgrades for his team’s roster. Cohen himself isn’t too worried about either the new tax threshold or being personally attached to it by name, telling The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters that “the way I describe it is, it’s better than a bridge being named after you or something like that.”
While $290MM+ is “still a lot of money to spend on a payroll, I don’t feel like it’s so confining that I can’t live with it,” Cohen said, noting that the Mets will indeed “probably” exceed the top tax threshold. Roster Resource projects that the Mets are already around the $285.5MM mark for this season’s tax number, and with some needs still left to address on the roster, it isn’t any surprise that Cohen isn’t suddenly putting the brakes on spending. Since the Mets didn’t exceed the tax threshold last season, they would be penalized at the “first-timer” rate of 80 percent on the overage of any dollar spent beyond $290MM, plus their top pick in the 2022 draft would be moved back 10 places.
More from Queens…
- Mets GM Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter spoke with reporters (including Deesha Thosar and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) today, and the nature of those future roster reinforcements was one of the many topics discussed. “I’d be fairly surprised if we went after another bat at this juncture,” Eppler said, as New York already added the likes of Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha prior the lockout. Recent reports have suggested that, if anything, the Mets are trying to trade from their surplus of position players, with such names as J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith, and Jeff McNeil rumored to be available.
- Jacob deGrom’s health was a major question mark last season, though Eppler said that he doesn’t have any concerns about the ace after consulting with the Mets training and coaching staff. Showalter added that deGrom has also already thrown off a mound. Minor nagging injuries and then a forearm strain limited deGrom to only 92 innings in 2021, and he didn’t pitch after July 7. There were some conflicting messages from team president Sandy Alderson, former manager Luis Rojas, former acting GM Zack Scott, and deGrom himself about the exact nature of the injury, which naturally led to speculation over the offseason about deGrom’s status heading into 2022, given the ominous nature of forearm-related injuries.
- With left-handed bullpen help a need, “Brad Hand is on the Mets’ radar,” MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes. Hand was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in September and he posted a 2.70 ERA over his 13 1/3 innings in New York, righting the ship to some extent after a rough and brief stint in Toronto. It was still a difficult season overall for Hand, who had a 3.90 ERA over 64 2/3 combined frames with the Nationals, Jays, and Mets, and posted his worst strikeout rate (21.9%) since 2015.
- The Mets had some interest in Yusei Kikuchi but “didn’t get far down the road” with the left-hander before he signed with the Blue Jays, SNY’s Andy Martino tweets.
- Brandon Nimmo reiterated his interest in an extension with the Mets, and told Anthony DiComo and other reporters that he would happy to negotiate with the club during Spring Training. Nimmo scheduled to hit free agency after the 2022 season, and while the Mets haven’t yet approached him about a new deal, it could be that the front office is simply busy with the early flurry of transaction possibilities now that the lockout is over.
Ugh…..
Great pitching staff though…
Thank you for the c shaped bagels.
Mo, Larry, & Curly (&Shemp), our real last name was Horowitz (except Larry, he was a Fine). We loved our bagels. How they kept humor going in the 30’s & 40’s was admirable.
Mets are pretty well setup. I can’t really find a glaring hole on the current roster.
Could use another left hander or 2. Other than that, they’ve got good depth across the board
Not a big fan of McCann. Hope he bounces back with McNeil if he still is a Met. Both are crucial to the team and would be a welcome plus.
I don’t like McCann either, but they’re stuck with that.
If you think this story has a happy ending you haven’t been paying attention
We will see, Andy. We will see.
this isn’t the same book, and perhaps not even the same genre though.
Maybe not right now (though I’m not 100% sold on the bullpen), but there’s a number of injury-prone players that could create holes in a hurry.
Even as a Mets fan, though, I’m not going to be confident unless they’re still in the hunt in August/September.
@rct Yea. Because you’re an intelligent fan. I think the Mets are stacked and after the Bassit signing, I actually have them as the clear division favorite, but smart Mets fans know not to count their chickens.
You might not want to insult someone else’s intelligence when you refer to is as “the Bassit signing” instead of “the Bassit trade”, as that’s what it actually was, a trade, not a signing. Chris Bassitt wasnt a free agent the Mets signed.
@Pete: I don’t think Von was insulting my intelligence. At least, that’s not the way I took it. Von is a long-time poster whose name I recognize as one of the better, most level-headed commenters here.
It smelled of sarcasm to me but eh, as long as you didn’t take it that way than w/e
It will be funny if they miss the playoffs again
It would be a colossal failure
Typical Braves fan scared now that Cohen is in charge
It wouldn’t be funny. It would just be sad.
One man’s tragedy is another man’s comedy.
The tragi-comic truth!
@BKL. We weren’t scared last year.
The Mets are easy to poke fun at because of the previous failures and antics that have taken place. All that stuff has nothing to do with THIS Mets team though. I don’t see how the Mets won’t be competitive. If they really do fail to make the playoffs I think Cohen would need to look at other issues preventing them such as the culture, leadership or maybe both.
Worked out fine for the Padres
Teams have operated high payrolls and added in free agents to supplement a strong core to push them over the top, but no team that I’m aware of has taken a consistently losing team and purchased a World Series title the following year, or a “piece of metal,” as Manfred called it. Maybe the 2013 Red Sox, who added some medium-range free agents to move from a .426 winning percentage in 2012 to the Metal title the following season, but those moves perhaps supplemented a team many thought perhaps was on the rise?
Cohen here is going for brute force though to win the metal. The Mets have had been a losing team four of the last five years, with those four losing seasons producing team percentages of .475, .433. 475 and .432, to go along with 10 of 13 losing seasons. Can Steve’s hedge-fund money buy that title outright as he’s heading toward the first $300MM+ payroll? History says no, but it will be interesting to watch.
BTW I love when teams try to win, be it the Dodgers, now the Mets, formerly the Yankees, etc. This is all sports-entertainment, and you’re a. lucky fan if your owner will spend to entertain!
Wild. Good for the Mets. If the Mets spend 300 million this year does anyone know approximately how much in total that is added tax ? Just curious thanks
If I understood 20% of the overage over $260 million so $8 million dollars extra. Cohen won’t give a shi* about that, he wants to own New York and he’s coming for the Steinbrenners who suddenly have become fiscally responsible with George’s death. Cohen is George 2.0 he has the cash to make life hard on other owners. Seriously some teams might want to think of becoming publicly traded companies with a board of directors running it….Tampa and Oakland I’m talking to you
@RobM yes the Mets will be the 1st team ever ENTERING a season at 300 million but they are not the 1st to have a 300 million dollar payroll. Look at the ending payroll of the 2015 LA Dodgers. They finished that season at 316 million. Some will point to those acquisitions and say they weren’t signings, they were trades. At seasons end, the Dodgers 2015 payroll was 316 million no matter how we look at it.
@Cohens_Wallet, Good addition, thanks. I didn’t realize that.
Prior to fines, the Dodgers 2015 CBT payroll was $297,918,681 legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/nl… That is a boatload of money, especially when you take inflation into account.
2009 Yankees.
They had a winning team they supplemented. Their championship core was still there. Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte. etc. They haven’t had a losing season in forever. The Yankees payroll actually went DOWN from 2008 to 2009. What I’m talking about here is taking a consistently losing team and putting them over the top the next season.
Interesting that your ‘core’ for the Yankees is those four guys (ages, in order, 35, 39, 38, 37) and not the guys from the 2008 (and prior) team that they bought and kept for 2009: ARod, Swisher, Matsui, Damon, and Mussina. *Then* they added Teixeira (possibly the top hitter on the market), Sabathia (possibly the top pitcher on the market), and AJ Burnett, among others (and re-signed Pettite).
They totally ‘bought’ the 2009 team. They just did it over a couple of years instead of in one swoop like Cohen is trying to do.
rct nailed my points. It’s a littlr silly to point to 4 or 5 guys as a core. The Yankees bought an army of FAs and it paid off. The Mets are doing the same, and I have a hard time seeing the Mets failing in 2022.
@VonPurpleHayes,
I didn’t address @rct as his response seems a bit defensive.
If your case, you’re attempting a strawman, attempting to reframe and argue a different point than my original post.
I love it when teams (Braves) try to win AND SUCCEED in winning when the general public, including their own fanbase, write them off.
Ive watched the marlins do it twice and tear it down directly after
A Hand job, I mean a job for Hand would be great
Woody Allen: “Don’t knock masturbation; it’s sex with someone I love”.
Wild. Good for the Mets. If the Mets spend 300 million this year does anyone know approximately how much in total that is added tax ? Just curious thanks
Real bagels have holes – that’s how they go on a spindle. That bread thing that some people call a bagel doesn’t.
How much money eould he pay in tax if the payroll is 300 million ? Thanks
8 million in tax
As a Braves fan, if we lose Freeman, the Mets could very well take over. first place. The Mets are real this year, I’m not sure where the Braves are.
A Mets fan here… I don’t ever want any Mets fan saying they’ll win their own division. Dethrone the Braves before any Mets fan should say anything.
While I agree losing Freeman would be huge if not simply the psyche. To me, it would be an absolute shame to win a World Series and lose Freddie.
I think they should sign all three: Freeman, Soler, & Escobar, but it seems like they’re going to be content with either resigning Freeman & letting at least one or both of Soler/Escobar to walk, or signing those 2 back & letting Freeman walk.
I’m actually really excited for a Freeman/Riley & Ozuna combo. Now with the NL having a DH, imagine Soler/Escobar/Acuna with Freeman, Riley, & Ozuna.
Not too many better lineups than that. Only negative the Braves have if they can manage that is finding another SP or 2.
I agree with @stantheman. As a Mets fan, I would not predict them winning anything. I think they’ll do well this year, but I wouldn’t predict them winning the division.
And I know this intangible cannot be measured, but there’s something to say about all these new faces gelling on the baseball field.
It’s usually that 2nd year where you see that talent perform well together.
Not for nothing, it’s still way too early to even see what improvements the Braves do in fact make.
Other teams in the NL East & NL period are improving too. Even a healthy Strasburg means wins for Washington. To win the NL East, you have to beat the NL East. Not for nothing, all that talk about how strong the NL East was last year, and it appeared to be the Braves & everyone else in the East.
Plus a new manager, new hitting coach, new GM, other new coaches, etc. It adds up.
Ah, yes. All good points too!
In Pittsburgh, they have the Nutting Tax, which means the fans pay twenty percent more for tickets and beer every time the payroll goes up one percent.
That’s a good point. Some fans point to the top spending teams as the problem. I disagree. It’s the bottom teams, and frankly, even lower spending teams like Rays and A’s put good product on the field consistently. Can’t say that Nutting is doing that.
Unfortunately, they’ll have Nutting to show for it.
Good one. Hammer Time!
@MLBTR pretty sure you mean the 2023 draft not 2022 for punishment.
Cohen is an easy to guy to root against.
If you’re a fan of another team, sure.
Ask almost any fan of the other 29 teams, though, and they’d love to have a team owner who spends as if money is no object.
Perhaps, he was referring to his non-baseball indiscretions.
The Mets had a pitching staff of popsicle sticks last year and still did”ok”. They look a lot better going in to this year. They’re problem is the bats. Many down years by too many players last year. McCann, McNeil and Lindor all need to improve a lot to get anything going. The new guys will help as well. They need to score early and let the starters work without stress. That could be epic.
From what has been reported, their hitting strategies were needlessly complicated and their messaging to the players/hitters was often confusing and contradictory. This would make sense considering most of the team did not have a good year and a few players (McNeil, Conforto, Dom Smith, etc) had terrible years that were way below their career numbers up to that point.
Supposedly, Chavez is simplifying things. We’ll see.
Mets need another RBI bat. Lots of OBP guys not enough RBI guys
I think they’ve created RBI guys by getting OBP guys.
Gotta get on base before you can score….that was the Yankees Achilles heel last season. The bats were quiet too long, you need homers with people on base…
Jd davis to a team for cash or a low level minor league prospect to be named later to me still makes a lot of sense
Ooor …just keep him and let him mash off the bench.
Completely agree with this
dynasty in the making
“I’d be fairly surprised if we went after another bat at this juncture,” Eppler said.
They’re going to regret that because this team needs another power bat. They have no one with 25+ power in the OF. This is talented but old team that could go sideways fast if injuries hit. The line-up is ok but it doesn’t really scare anyone.
“At this juncture”. The Mets are well set to start the season. Nothing says they won’t or can’t add up to the trading deadline.
If Max and Jake are healthy and on form, that will be a devastating 1-2 punch.
Now that there’s a DH, does that negate the benefits of a seasoned manager?
No, but you gotta go easy on the pepper.
Nimmo is the most overrated player in the game. The only reason he has a high OBP is because he constantly fouls off meatballs. He can’t hit a batting practice fastball, and eventually the pitcher walks him. Not much of a fielder as well. Would love to see him leave.
I think I’m alone in this but I dont really get all the hype surrounding Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha.
While Marte looks pretty well rounded, I don’t see where he’s the superstar they are painting him, but the other two look like the typical “overhyped ok garbage” we usually get as Mets Fans. Every one of them is 33 years old, so I just don’t get all this hype!. Their numbers just don’t impress me. The only positive is the changing of the faces, but Michael Conforto at 29 years of age is still my best pick out of all of them outside of his horrible 2021 season!
Jeff McNeil needs to grow up and stop acting like a little bleep whenever he strikes out or fouls a ball off. He has shown he is better than that, so hopefully if he stays here, he gets past that!
I also don’t understand why The Mets have taken themselves out of the KB sweepstakes, but I’m sure there is something there I am not privy too!
The current Top 3 Starters could be “Amazin’ ” if they stay healthy, but again that still remains to be seen.
All that said, I do think The Mets improved in some areas, but I also think they took a step back or just remained mediocre with different faces in others!
Unfortunately till they prove me wrong, The Braves are still The Team To Beat!
Fair and I don’t totally disagree. I think part of the impetus behind the moves was to change the faces a bit. Marte also gives them speed and will cover CF better than Conforto/Nimmo have been. They’re not superstars, but they are professionals.
People are acting like the Mets getting rid of those three is a done deal. If McNeils gone who plays 2nd (don’t say Cano). Davis is perfect for DH. Smith should come off the bench anyway. He was great off the bench in ‘19. Also the seem to have the pitching shored up so there isn’t really anything to trade for unless they want prospects
Relief pitching.
Touché