MLB rumors: Fire sale coming, Mets spend again, Rangers’ bad deal, more

MLB rumors: Mets spend again because they can

The advantages of having a spendy owner are obvious. The disadvantages rear their ugly heads if the people spending the money don’t do so wisely. So, basically, Steve Cohen got the Mets in the mess they’re in right now in 2023 by throwing cash around without ensuring that money would be wisely spent.

The plan to get out of the mess? Just spend more, baby!

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) detailed how the Met are paying, and will continue to pay, premiums no matter which way they trend at the trade deadline: “The Coehn Mets operate differently form every other club.”

For instance, the trade earlier this week that brought Trevor Gott to the Mets resulted in a 90 percent tax on the combined salaries of Gott and Chris Flexen. The result? Gott essentially cost $8.5 million to acquire. His estimated value on the open market is closer to $1.5 million but taking on Flexen’s $4 million, plus tax, made the cost much higher.

On the flip side, trading Eduardo Escobar to the Angels involved paying $4.72 million of the infielder’s remaining salary to make the deal happen.

But hey, what’s the true value of cash or the sting of a luxury tax when your owner has a net worth in the tens of billions?

So when the trade deadline rolls around, expect the Cohen’s money to keep on flowing, whether for ins or outs.