The new collective agreement included a new level of penalties for teams that exceed the $230 million luxury tax this season by more than $60 million. This level was almost immediately nicknamed the “Steve Cohen tax” due to the Mets owner being willing to spend whatever he could on upgrades to his team roster. Cohen himself is not overly concerned about the new tax threshold, nor that he is personally connected to it by name, telling Disha Tosar of The New York Daily News and other reporters that “the way I describe it is better than bridge name. after you or something like that.”
While $290 million+ is “still a lot of money to spend on payroll, I don’t feel like it limits me enough that I can’t live with it,” Cohen said, noting that the Mets do “probably » will exceed the upper limit. tax threshold. Roster Resource projects the Mets are already at $285.5 million for tax number this season, and with some needs still left on the roster, it’s no wonder Cohen won’t suddenly slow down spending. Because the Mets did not go over the tax threshold last season, they will be fined an 80 percent rookie rate for over any dollar spent in excess of $290 million, plus their top pick in the 2022 draft will be moved. back 10 places.
More from Queens…
- Mets general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter spoke to reporters (including Disha Tosar as well as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) today, and the nature of these future additions to the line-up has been one of the many topics discussed. “I would be very surprised if we went for another bat at this point,” Eppler said, as New York has already added similar Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobaras well as Mark Kanya before blocking. Recent reports suggest that, if anything, the Mets are trying to trade their surplus of position players with names like JD Davis, Dominic Smithas well as Jeff McNeil rumored to be available.
- Jacob de GromHealth was a big question mark last season, although Eppler said he had no concerns about the ace after consulting with the Mets’ training and coaching staff. Showalter added that deGrom had already thrown off the barrow too. Minor nagging injuries and then a sprained forearm limited deGrom to just 92 innings in 2021 and he hasn’t played since July 7. There have been some conflicting reports from team president Sandy Alderson, former manager Luis Rojas, former interim general manager Zach Scott and deGrom about the exact nature of the injury, which naturally sparked off-season speculation about deGrom’s 2022 status given the sinister nature of the injuries. associated with the forearm.
- I need help with a left-handed bullpen, ”Brad Hand is on the radar of the Metz, John Heyman of MLB Network writes. In September, the Blue Jays demanded a waiver from Hand, and he posted a 2.70 ERA in his 13 1/3 innings in New York, correcting the ship to some extent after a rough and brief stint in Toronto. It was a tough season overall for Hand, who had a 3.90 ERA in 64 2/3 combined frames with the Nationals, Jays and Mets and posted his worst strikeout rate (21.9%) since 2015.
- Metz showed some interest in Yusei Kikuchi but “didn’t get very far” with the left-hander before he signed with the Blue Jays, SNY’s Andy Martino. tweets.
- Brandon Nimmo confirmed his interest in a contract extension with the Mets and told Anthony DiComo and other reporters that he would be happy to negotiate with the club during spring training. Nimmo planned to become a free agent after the 2022 season, and while the Mets haven’t approached him about a new deal yet, it’s possible the front office is just busy with an early flurry of transaction opportunities now that the lockout is over.