Don’t expect a dip in the Mets payroll for next season.
Team owner Steve Cohen expressed that sentiment Friday, responding to fan backlash — perhaps fueled by an internet aggregator (NYM_News) who misinterpreted information reported by The Post.
“As typical, the usual idiots misinterpreting a Post article on Mets payroll for ’26,” Cohen posted on X. “I can’t imagine our payroll to be lower than last year. It’s always hard to predict, but that would be my best guess.”
Spotrac pegged the Mets payroll last season at $341.7 million, which ranked only behind the Dodgers in MLB.
The Post reported the Mets calculate their payroll as standing at $310 million to $320 million with multiple holes remaining, and it’s unlikely the team would surge into the Dodgers stratosphere of $400 million.
Cohen, in a follow-up post, indicated that many payroll calculations are short of reality.
“Payroll watchers always forget to budget for waiver claims, player movement from minors to majors and trade deadline moves,” Cohen said. “That’s how it typically works.”
Steve Cohen during spring training 2025. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The comments on social media were Cohen’s first since September, when he apologized to Mets fans after the team missed the playoffs after losing the regular-season finale in Miami. Cohen called the result “unacceptable” and vowed to find answers.
Since then, president of baseball operations David Stearns has undertaken an overhaul of the roster, trading Brandon Nimmo to Texas before watching Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz depart through free agency.
Steve Cohen and David Stearns (l). Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Stearns hasn’t sat idle. The team signed Jorge Polanco to a two-year contract worth $40 million.
Also, reliever Devin Williams arrived on a three-year contract worth $51 million. Marcus Semien, the return from Texas in the Nimmo trade, will receive $24 million in 2026.
The Mets also agreed in recent days to a two-year contract worth $22 million with reliever Luke Weaver.
Alonso received a five-year deal worth $155 million from the Orioles a day after Díaz agreed to a three-year contract worth $69 million with the Dodgers. Both players opted out of contracts after the World Series.
Semien’s salary is the third highest on the team, behind Juan Soto ($51 million) and Francisco Lindor ($34 million).
The Mets still have an outfield hole to fill and potential spots in the starting rotation and bullpen they will address. It’s possible the Mets could still trade players such as Jeff McNeil, Kodai Senga and David Peterson, creating further payroll flexibility if needed.
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McNeil is owed $15.75 million as he prepares for the final season of a contract that holds a club option for the same amount in 2027.
There is a $2 million buyout if that option isn’t exercised. Senga is due $15 million each of the next two seasons on a contract that includes a conditional club option for 2028 at the same salary. Peterson, in his final season of arbitration eligibility, remains unsigned after the sides couldn’t agree to terms last month.
Peterson is projected by Spotrac to receive a contract worth $9.2 million next season.