With a total of $384 million, the New York Mets came into the 2023 season with the highest payroll in MLB history, and expectations to win their first World Series since 1986. In the past four days, five key members to the Mets’ lineup are now taking up space in different locker rooms.
Chances are, if you have a few million lying around, there might be a few other players you can take off of Cohen’s hands.
The Mets come into Tuesday five games under .500 (50-55), six games out of the National League Wild Card, and 17.5 games out of first in the NL East. If you add in taxes, Cohen is paying $482 million to field a team that will be sitting home in the fall faster than their collapse at the end of 2022.
Remember that despite the Atlanta Braves playing incredible baseball in August and September, the Mets squandered a 10-game lead, then went out in the first round against the San Diego Padres.
I don’t know if my Wise Guys Sports Show co-host Mike Martinez got his playoff appearance t-shirt from last season, since it was “the only one they were going to get.”
Hey, look at that…”Note-stradumas” got one right!
In the span of three days, Cohen saw Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, two aging veteran aces on his pitching staff, moved to World Series contenders. Scherzer, 39, owed $43.3 million, was traded to the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Verlander, 40, also owed $43.3 million, was traded back to the Houston Astros around 3 PM eastern time on Tuesday, just hours before the MLB trade deadline.
It is still unclear how much of the $86.6 million will be retained by the Mets, but the hope is Cohen can get a tax break by the start of 2024. The Mets are $144 million over the Competitive Balance Tax, which is most closely the equivalent of the Luxury Tax in the NBA.
Verlander, or “Mr. Kate Upton” as Mike and I refer to him, is under contract with the Astros until the end of the 2024 season. Scherzer already opted into 2025 with the Rangers, which was one of the components of the deal, due to his no-trade clause.
Mark Canha was also moved to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, as the Brewers try to load up on bats for the playoff drive. Milwaukee added Carlos Santana last week from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Santana and Canha will likely be alternating between first base and designated hitter the rest of the season.
The final piece of the tear down fire sale (there I go again with the metaphors…) came in the form of reliever David Robertson being sent to the Florida Marlins. There are some of us who remember the days where trading a player within your division was as bad, if not worse, than losing to them. Either way, four playoff-bound squads improved, while the Mets moved forward with replenishing prospects.
ESPN and CBS Sports both reported on Tuesday that there were even talks that the Mets would listen to offers for Pete Alonso, if the return was intriguing enough.
If the prospects lead to a rebuild, or a ploy to lure Shohei Ohtani from the Los Angeles Angels is a story that will take time to develop. Either way, the Verlander move officially spells the end of the most disappointing and underachieving season in the history of any MLB franchise. The moves shed $40 million from the Mets’ payroll, but still puts them $66 million ahead of the Yankees for tops in baseball.
The Yankees may be in last place, but their record is over .500…
Next up on the Mets’ to-do list should be asking Francisco Lindor to hit over .250 with a $34 million contract. Fortunately for Lindor, he will not have to listen to the media harp on his inability to produce in the playoffs this fall.
-JC24