Steve Cohen and the New York Mets have a leg up on the competition. Cohen is the richest owner in baseball and (shocked face) actually seems to care about the Mets on-field product. For those unfamiliar with traditional baseball ownership, you'd be surprised how infrequent that trait is.
Owners of small-market teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins spend the bare minimum on the roster, instead collecting their TV deal checks and luxury tax freebies. Baseball's system isn't a salary cap, per say, but spending will cost you. However, teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers also make money hand over first, which means those fines are well worth it come season's end.
Cohen understands there is more money to be made by winning than standing pat. While organizations like the Pirates and Marlins are taking the conservative approach, high-spending teams have proven time and time again that putting a winning product on the field does not lead to a net loss, despite more money invested. Teams can more than make up for the on-field spending in ticket sales and merchandise.
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Mets embarrassed MLB with payroll numbers in the best way
The Mets have led the league in spending for three straight seasons. They've accumulated $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax. New York spent $333.3 million in payroll this past season, breaking their own record which was set in 2023 ($319.5 million). Cohen does not mind those numbers in the slightest.
“One thing I’ve learned a long time ago, if you want something that’s amazing, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Cohen said in December.
The most damning stat in the Associated Press report regarding the Mets spending is hidden about halfway through the piece, and it highlights MLB's spending problem better than I ever could:
"New York’s spending on major league players for 2021-24 was just above what the payrolls from 2004-24 totaled for the Marlins ($1.34 billion), Pirates ($1.32 billion) and Rays ($1.32 billion)," the AP wrote.
The A's and Pirates spent a league low $268 million and $271 million over the past four seasons. The Mets tend to surpass that in a single year and then some. The A's in particular were as cheap as they come, saving money on payroll for an upcoming move to Las Vegas. The Athletics will play in Sacramento this season, and immediately spent money on mid-tier free agents upon leaving Oakland.
MLB's spending problem does not come from the top of the league. Teams like the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees are growing the sport, while poor ownership in Pittsburgh, Miami and elsewhere is hurting the cause.
A good place to start is a salary floor, rather than a cap. It's about time rich ownership starts investing in what they paid for.