Steve Cohen spends money with a casualness, almost a frivolity, that underscores his understanding of his own wealth. Whenever baseball’s players and its ownership class clash, officials on the players’ side get angry when the battle is portrayed as “millionaires versus billionaires.” Don’t you see, union people could say how many millions there are in a billion?
The answer is of course a thousand. There are a thousand millions in a billion. And Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, is a guy with over a dozen billion. Do the math. He sure can.
If you felt a little dizzy when you woke up this morning, you weren’t alone. Overnight, with most of the baseball industry dormant, Cohen negotiated a shocking 12-year, $315 million deal with free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa. The deal is of course still awaiting a physical, which turned out to be a stumbling block of epic proportions for the team that thought they signed him last week. In a stunning reversal, Correa had agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with San Francisco, but the Giants canceled a Tuesday morning press conference, reportedly due to medical reasons.
The nature of these concerns is unknown. But it was enough to create an opening for the Mets. One night when Correa was toasting to his new life in the Bay Area, his rep Scott Boras called the Mets owner. Cohen had already spent nearly $500 million on free agents. He felt his team needed an extra hitter to challenge the Braves and the Phillies in the National League East. If it took his offseason tally to $806.1 million and pay a premium to put Correa at third base alongside shortstop Francisco Lindor, so be it.
“We needed one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Steve Cohen (Gregory Fisher / USA Today Sports)
In his brief tenure as owner of the Mets, the hedge fund manager collected gamers with the same zeal he collected art. He can afford to splurge. Bloomberg estimates his net worth at just under $13 billion. He is considered the richest of any owner in Major League Baseball. he pretends
When the Mets season ended in October after 101 wins in the regular season but only three games in the postseason, there was a sense of a missed opportunity. The team could be good again in 2023 but it would be hard to recapture the magic. A bevy of key contributors—ace Jacob deGrom, star closer Edwin Díaz, popular outfielder Brandon Nimmo, and starters Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker—would become free agents. It would be a challenge for the Mets, the general consensus went, to plug all of those holes.
That’s the kind of thinking that ignores how many millions are in a billion – and ignores Cohen’s understanding of the math.
After letting deGrom leave for Texas, Cohen began spending. And he really didn’t stop. Over the course of an offseason, the Mets signed the youngest of the four available star shortstops (Correa), the most successful pitcher on the market (Justin Verlander), and the best reliever (Díaz). Almost as an afterthought, the team teamed up with Nimmo on an eight-year, $162 million deal. As a positive play, the Mets threw $75 million at Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga. Oh, by the way, a stray $65.5 million was split between starter José Quintana, catcher Omar Narváez and backup duo Adam Ottavino and David Robertson.
The spending brings the team’s projected luxury tax payroll to around $380 million, $90 million above the third tax threshold, known as the “Cohen tax.” Cohen laughed at the tax after it was written into the latest collective bargaining agreement. “It’s better than having a bridge named after you,” he said. He wasn’t joking – he doesn’t care. And if that makes any difference at all, the brevity of most of those deals means the Mets will be considered favorites for two-way star Shohei Ohtani next winter.
Despite this, the team is trying to lose some salary. Correa makes third baseman Eduardo Escobar expendable. The presence of catcher James McCann is also superfluous. General manager Billy Eppler may be looking to improve his pitching staff by dangling infield prospects like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos in trades – which could be tempting for the White Sox, who have been hearing offers for a closer Liam Hendriks. With Lindor and Correa each signing in the 2030s, there is little need for youth on the left side of the Mets’ centerfield.
So Eppler stays busy over the holidays. He had acted as moderator for a variety of press conferences over the past two weeks, with Nimmo, Senga and Verlander all visiting New York. On Tuesday morning, Verlander was asked why he chose the Mets. His response was the same as why Correa, who was due to be unveiled in San Francisco later that day, will now dedicate the rest of his career to the Mets.
“Steve,” Verlander said.
Cohen has operated with ruthless directness this winter. The Mets needed a closer one. Cohen signed a record-breaking $100 million deal with Díaz. The Mets had to replace deGrom. Jump into Verlander and tie Max Scherzer’s benchmark for average annual value with a two-year, $86.7 million deal. Even after spending nearly half a billion, the Mets needed another slugger. When there was an opening with Correa, Cohen didn’t hesitate.
And why shouldn’t he? Do you know how many millions are in a billion?
Steve Cohen does.
(Top Photo by Carlos Correa: Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images))