Steve Cohen is not messing around this winter.
Despite losing Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers, the New York Mets owner continues to spend his way through the MLB offseason as he added Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga on a five-year, $75 million deal that broke late Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The addition of Senga now puts the Mets payroll for the 2023 season at around $345 million, which, of course, could still change (up or down).
Cohen has committed a total of $475 million thus far this offseason, which includes re-signing Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo as well as the signings of Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, David Robertson and now Senga.
The luxury tax for the 2022 season is $230 million, and under the new collective bargaining agreement, there are additional surcharges for how much a franchise exceeds the threshold.
A team $20-$40 million over the threshold receives a 12% surcharge; teams $40-$60 million over receive 42.5% surcharge the first year and 45% every year after that.
The final surcharge, which was nicknamed the “Steve Cohen tax” is 60% for anyone who spends $60 million or more than the luxury tax.
The Mets have blown through that threshold and, as things stand now, would like pay a $76.2 million competitive balance tax for next season, bringing the team’s totally payroll in excess of $421 million, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The exorbitant spending has not gone unnoticed as Mets fans embrace an owner willing to invest in the team in order to win a World Series while the rest of the baseball world just watches in amazement.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram