(670 The Score) – Asked whether the Mets’ spending spree this offseason has put added pressure on himself to keep up, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts on Friday largely sidestepped the question.
“It’s an interesting thing that’s happening with the Mets,” Ricketts said on the Mully & Haugh Show. “But you know, I don’t really want to focus on what other teams are doing. I don’t know what their strategy is or how they’re financing their player decisions. I think for us, we just know that we have to just do what we know how to do. Let’s build a team from the group up, because that’s how championships are won. And if there are other teams that are spending in a way that we don’t understand, then we just have to let them do it and let it all be settled on the field.”
Led by owner Steve Cohen, the Mets currently project to have about a $357-million payroll for the 2023 season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The competitive balance threshold tax is set at $233 million for 2023, and there’s an added surcharge for teams that surpass it by more than $20 million.
With that in mind, the Mets are currently on track to pay around $87 million in luxury tax, the Post reported.
The Cubs’ biggest addition this offseason was shortstop Dansby Swanson, who signed a seven-year, $177-million deal with Chicago. The Cubs’ current estimated payroll when factoring in arbitration and everything is around $214 million, according to Fangraphs, though Ricketts noted the team’s offseason isn’t completely done yet.
From the sounds of it, the Cubs have no intention of going over the CBT threshold in 2023. The Cubs are coming off a 74-88 season in 2022.
“We’re in a good position,” Ricketts said. “We haven’t finished our offseason yet, but we’ll be back among the top spenders and near the CBT levels and put in a lot of our cash on the field – but without doing it in a way that we think will hurt us in the long run.”
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