Mets and $333 Million Dollar payroll
 

The Mets spent a lot of money bringing back and/or adding to replace the free agents they lost

Their project payroll this year is $333 Million dollars and will pay over $66 million dollars in luxury tax

Did they improve? Are they even the best team in the NL East?
How did they do to you?
Mets' offseason signings

PLAYER POS. CONTRACT
Edwin Diaz RP 5-year; $102M
Brandon Nimmo OF 8-year; $162M
Jose Quintana SP 2-year; $26M
David Robertson RP 1-year; $10M
Justin Verlander SP 2-year; $86.6M

As a neutral outsider Mets have a much tougher road to the World Series than the Yankees.

Granted the Yankees can't beat the Astros and that is a huge problem, but the NL is so much better than the AL these days.

The Astros have been to the ALCS 6 straight times. They own the AL, no one else is close. Yankees were just an embarrassment in this years ALCS. They looked awful, they look intimidated, and they have done nothing this offseason to address that, so I expect more of the same out of them next year.

A good regular season and then booted in the 1st or 2nd round of the Playoffs.

The Mets got better for sure with their signings, but so did the Phillies, Padres, and Cardinals. And you have the Dodgers and Braves too.

Of the Top 6 teams in MLB 5 are in the NL, so tough road for the Mets, but tough road for all of the NL.

1. Astros
2. Padres
3. Dodgers
4. Phillies
5. Braves
6. Mets

.....and those Top 6 can be flipped amongst each other, but they are clearly the Top 6 going into 2023.

Then the drop off to teams like the:

Mariners
Cardinals
Yankees
Rays
Blue Jays

Sadly You are spot on in you assessment
The interesting re-signing was Nimmo I never knew he was in the top 6 in OBP since 2018 in the entire Major League

Nimmo is in sixth place in Major League Baseball in OBP since 2018. The outfielder is in elite company in that regard as the only five players above him are all superstars. Mike Trout, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, and Aaron Judge are the only players to have a higher OBP over that time period. Plus He also ranked in the Top 20 in BB% at 16th with 13.7 percent

I like the Robertson deal. That's a lot of years for Nimmo but I'm OK with it.
Braves (and possibly Phillies) are still ahead of them in the NL for me.

And yes the Phils had a great year but the Yankees are a far superior team

Nimmo seems like the Aaron Hicks of the Mets. He's only played 100 games or more twice and he's about to be 30 years old.

As a Mets fan, this hurts but it's a fair comparison!

As a Mets fan I think their moves this offseason have been a "best of what is available" situation. I agree that the Robertson deal is good, they need more bullpen depth, and Diaz is as good as it gets so I'm good with that deal as well. Nimmo has been great and he's a homegrown guy so that's good to see.

Agreed. They did what they could given the circumstances. Grateful they are willing to spend what is needed. Their payroll has steadily grown--was 23rd highest a decade ago, and will be near the top in 2023.

I like Nimmo, but I hope he gets on base bit more next year. His OBP was only .367 in 2022 (was over .400 3 of the previous 4 years).

Mets are pretty solid though. They had 4 guys with a WAR over 5 last year: McNeil 5.7, Lindor 5.4, Scherzer 5.2, Nimmo 5.1, and Alonso was close with 4.4 (his DWar was -1.1).

Phils and Braves are going to be TOUGH.

I am perfectly okay with the Phillies being good.

No they are into serious money and taxes with the signing of the Japanese pitcher Senga to a 5 year $75 million deal(with opt out after 2)

Now big changes in the Mets (at lease pitching wise with 3 new starters, 2 relievers, and resigning of Diaz)

Hitting lineup looks good but Phillies and Braves look better

So either teams dont spend and are criticized for not winning or teams spend too much....very very hard to get that middle as other teams will spend more.

if spending too much causes your team to lose, ie. one guy gets hurt that impacts team too much and cant do much with roster for trades and no new money to spend, then thats a valid criticism.

otherwise never understood arguments about spend..

if yankees dont sign Judge. 'how can they let him go!' If they sign him 'how they spend so much' just typical talking points that someone could of written both articles before he signed or not....

Mets get Carlos Correa for 12 years $315 Million after some type of Physical issue with the Giants.
Correa moves to 3rd for the Mets.

The Mets payroll is projected approx $370 million before tax and before any trades ie (McCann)

Wow

Love to see them Spending. Interesting to see if they spent well and if it was enough to Catch Braves and Phillie and then Houston

Rumors are they are trying to trade for Liam Hendriks.

Mets have approximately $140M coming off the books next year. Could be more if there are opt-outs.

In this thread Mets fans celebrate an owner willing to spend what it takes to build the team they want. But in any thread about the Yankees it's unfair.

I think they always have have and have nots in baseball.

Yankees big spenders (even had a nice off season so far with Judge and Rodon)

Dodgers last 10 years approx real big spender.

Mets just the newest and biggest at moment.

And for the teams that do not have as much(or many times chose not to spend the money). WE know many smaller funded teams take the Tax share revenue and do not re-invest like they are supposed to but Pocket it. How will their system and process to see how they do ie Tampa and Oakland often find ways to be super competitive

We all know Money helps but it does not always buy a championship. Just How it is spent and how well/ or not well it is spent.

Did the Mets buy themselves a Pennant or a WS or WS Championship we shall see.

But did create a buzz and excitement the METS have not had in a long time and it will be fun and exciting.

Plus for them money in more merchandise sold, greater attendence in the stadium and food/parking money spent.

Time will see but with the Phillies, Brave, Dodgers, Yankees, Houston to name a few should be a fun year of baseball

So his physical issue was only with the Giants? Huh?

I don't really understand the Mets.

They chose not to sign Kumar Rocker due to a medical evaluation after drafting him 10th overall. He plays Indy ball and then gets drafted 3rd overall by the Rangers.

Meanwhile, Correa has a 300 million dollar deal terminated after a medical evaluation and that for some reason made the Mets jump at the chance to sign him.

It is actually pretty funny when you consider Cleveland and the Dolan Family(owners) are the 2nd richest owners in baseball and their payroll is rarely if ever in the top 10/15 teams.

And remember if an owner can afford a team they should be able to afford more payroll then the bottom teams are spending(the bottom 8 teams are spending less than 50 Million on payroll).

They should establish a base level that each must spend

Doctors saw something in Kumar's records they didn't like and ultimately, Rocker did have shoulder surgery even after Boras said he had no medical issues. Mets felt it was not worth the risk and received a compensatory draft pick.

Correas issue happened years ago and he's played his entire career with it.

2 completely different issues.

I think it might be buyers remorse for San Francisco and they used it as an excuse to back out

Agree, it was a dumb contract.

Guardians were 1 game from advancing to play Houston in the ALCS in stead of the Yankees.

2022 Payrolls:

Guardians - 66 million (4th lowest in MLB)
Yankees - 253 million (3rd highest in MLB)

100% agree

My only point is where teams are not spending on payroll and/or complaining about Steve Cohen. Especially when the Guardians are the 2nd Wealthiest owner but as you show the 4th lowest payroll

Well I see one similarity between two similar situations. Mets are now walking back their agreement with Correa too.

Not so sure the Giants found an excuse to back out. The Mets apparently are concerned over the same thing now.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...k6m-story.html

Wow the plot thickens.

I had assumed it likely that the Giants realized paying $350,000,000 for a cheater with a 129 OPS+ and a lot of missed games was not a good buy and sought an excuse, but maybe they were onto something. The Twins cleared him when he got his big 3 year deal he opted out of, but that was a short term contract.

Hmm, I wonder if the Mets are going to try to add a "Magglio Ordonez" type team opt out to the contract?

I'd guess something along these lines, since we all know Boras isn't going to say "sure, let's just lop off some years and tens of millions"!

I can’t find any source to confirm if he did or didn’t actually sign a contract. If he hasn’t officially signed not sure what Boras can really say or do. They could walk away like San Francisco.

Cohen said it was a done deal publicly, bad form and unusual for ownership to say that before the ink is dry, Boras might use that as a bargaining chip.

Correa was dressed and ready for his press conference when SF announced the deal was off.

Yes but ownership didn't publicly say it was a done deal up to that point.

I think that’s semantics. Did they have to if there was a press announcement scheduled and in his mind he was still appearing at it?

Teams have always had long term concerns about Correa. That's why the best deal he could find last year was basically a "prove-it" deal with Minnesota.

While he played well for the Twins, he still missed 26 games. His offensive numbers were decent, but they they weren't exactly mind-blowing.

I've never been convinced "Winning" the Carlos Correa Sweepstakes, wouldn't end up being a misnomer.

Agreed, the Giants could have spent the same amount of money on Dansby Swanson and Carlos Rodon and made their team better overall.

the news has been interesting on this.
They say that both sides are trying to work thru it.

Not good look for either side

for Correa 2 teams see same potential problem he may have trouble getting the mega contract he wanted long term from a 3rd team

For Mets looks bad because Cohen said it was a done deal and obviously it is not.

I thought all the interested teams had gotten copies of his Correas physical long before this and odd both times it goes towards the end

it brilliant by Mets, they will get him for even cheaper and dont look bad with concerns since giants already did it...i guess can lose out to the giants who would be paying less but all the bargaining about about getting a better deal by Boras is gone..zero chance another team will offer more ..so now the contract will have better terms for the Mets.....

It could be brilliant upfront but even saving the money they will still have the risk from the injury they are concerned from.
But with him shifting to 3rd that should help him have less physical stress compared to playing short.

its still about the right price...the giants i submit would of kept him even with teh risk if the asking price was half....

its brilliant move by them also they will buy actual insurance in case he gets hurt...in fact its probably the insurance company that the teams are claiming is holding things up imo..

I'd be shocked if there's an Insurance company willing to back one of these contracts without an astronomical premium involved.

This isn't some college athlete insuring themselves for a million or two bucks and selling a piece of themselves to an investor in the process, hoping they don't get hurt before they can turn pro.

Good point Dave. I forgot that it might be insurable. That would make it a great play by the Mets

supposedly 3 teams ready to swoop in and Steal Correa away. However no idea on dollar amounts or years of contract that those teams might offer.

Correa vs Cohen let the battle begin

Have the teams been named? I'm curious but wasn't able to find this

Maybe the Twins are offering to let him "opt back in" to his original contract. :D:D

I could see the Rockies signing him if only to block their infield prospects. They seem to love doing that...

Sorry I did not see any teams named and I also looked.

It will be for less than the contracts mentioned already..that part is obvious..

they can make insurance cover anything...like only if missed 100 games in a season etc..heck 130...eventually theres a premium willing to be offered and paid..all that is negotiated..

Why would you want to give a decade long contract to a guy who can only make it work with an insurance policy attached to him? Wouldn't you avoid the headache entirely?

I'm also curious about this "brilliant" perspective on the Mets handling of this signing. For something to be brilliant it has to be planned. I doubt seriously that Cohen planned for this when he told everybody it was a done deal.