PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — After turning the New York Mets into the biggest spenders in Major League Baseball, team owner Steve Cohen would like to see his club build more economically through its farm system.
“I’d like to get below the Cohen tax,” he said Tuesday at spring training, referring to MLB’s fourth luxury tax threshold that was introduced in 2022 and aimed at him.
“I’m sure it’s about me,” he added before saying playfully: “There’s a lot of Cohens out there.”
Still in search of their first World Series title since 1986, the Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s National League Championship Series. The Dodgers went on to beat the American League’s New York Yankees, whose stars included outfielder Juan Soto, in the World Series.
After signing Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract and reaching deals with first baseman Pete Alonso, pitchers Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas and others, Cohen estimated his team’s payroll at $325 million. He thought additional moves could raise it to as much as $345 million.
The Dodgers led with a $353 million tax payroll last year and paid a $103 million tax. The Mets were second at just less than $348 million and paid $97 million in tax.
“I’m a piker now compared to the Dodgers,” Cohen said.
MLB’s luxury tax begins at $241 million this year, and the fourth threshold starts at $301 million. The Mets will pay a 110% tax on each dollar spent above the highest threshold.
Cohen bought the Mets ahead of the 2021 season and hasn’t been shy about announcing his ambitions.
“We’ve got to make the playoffs. OK, that’s the minimum,” he said. “After getting a taste of being in the league championship series, we want to go to the World Series, right, and we want to win.”
By developing more prospects into key contributors, the Mets would have more players under team control and less of a need to sign free agents.
“I’ve always wanted to be more measured in payroll growth,” Cohen said. “And then we get there — it’s never quite there. I have the ability to spend if I have to. I want to win, and I want to put the best team I can on the field. Free agency’s expensive. It’s just the way it is. It’s always more expensive than you can imagine.”
He avoided answering when asked whether he thought MLB should push for a salary cap in bargaining for a new labor deal to start in 2027.
“A lot can happen between now and then,” he said.
Cohen faulted the team’s 2.3 million attendance last year, which ranked 18th among MLB’s 30 teams. He pointed out that even against NL East Division opponents, some crowds were underwhelming.
“That really bothered me,” he said. “The series against the Nationals right before the final Phillies series, I think there were 18,000 fans in the stadium during a great pennant race.”
Still, he’s willing to spend whatever he thinks necessary to win.
“I can finance it. Is that the most optimal way to run the team? Probably not,” he said. “I wrestle with that all the time, even this year. I had a thought of where I wanted to be, and I’ve already blown through it.”
Cohen also said his Willets Point redevelopment project won’t move forward unless the land is rezoned and he is able to get a casino license in the Queens neighborhood. He has proposed a mixed-use development on a 50-acre parcel of land that’s currently used for parking at Citi Field, where the Mets have played home games since 2009.