There are a lot of media outlets out there reporting that the amount of dead money being paid by the New York Mets this season is the 14th-highest payroll in MLB. That is false. But Steve Cohen is still handing over more than $56 million to players that don’t suit up for his team. This is a lot. It’s basically the Oakland A’s entire payroll.
The claim of the New York Mets dead money being the 14th-highest payroll in MLB is a byproduct of some dodgy accounting. It is a combination of including lump sums for future seasons, not factoring in certain totals and simply trying to inflate the figure to make it sound more shocking.
That’s all fine and well but how much dead money are the Mets actually paying out for this year? It’s roughly $56.42 million in total. We got this sum by focusing on money used to cover payments to players for 2023. That means Bobby Bonilla is included but cash for Justin Verlander’s 2024 salary is not. Here is how everything breaks down.
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Robinson Cano: $20 million
Team: N/A
Some out there have claimed that the Mets are paying Robinson Cano $24 million to not play for them this year. According to Spotrac, that’s not entirely accurate. The Seattle Mariners are also covering four million of his salary which means the second baseman only accounts for $20 million in dead money.
This is New York’s single biggest dead money hit this season, although they did at least get Edwin Diaz out of the deal. Cano’s contract finally expires at the end of the season, which is good considering how much cash they will be shipping out in the future.
James McCann: $11 million
Team: Baltimore Orioles
It’s easy to forget that New York signed James McCann in the first place after a forgettable two-year spell. He was 30 years old at the time and coming off some okay-ish seasons with the Chicago White Sox. His output didn’t align with Steve Cohen’s visions of 2023 grandeur who signed Omar Narvaez as an upgrade. Oops.
McCann was shipped to Baltimore who only agreed to a trade if the Mets covered $19 million of the $24 million owed to him in 2023 and 2024. This year saw the franchise pay its former backstop $11 million to turn out for the Orioles.
Max Scherzer: $4.7 million
Team: Texas Rangers
This exact number is unknown, so it is pieced together using various reports. It has been rumored the Mets will cover $30.8 million of Max Scherzer’s Rangers salary in 2024 in addition to sending Texas $35.5 million in total.
Assuming the gap there goes towards this season, that would mean New York is paying Scherzer $4.7 million for the remainder of 2023. That’s not so bad considering what the team is giving away to others.
Justin Verlander: $4.7 million
Team: Houston Astros
We do know New York is paying $35 million of Justin Verlander’s salary for the next two seasons. What we don’t know is the specific breakdown of when that’s distributed. Given the similarities between Verlander’s and Scherzer’s as well as the desire for clubs to not add salary this year, let’s assume the Astros’ newest addition is also being paid $4.7 million for the remainder of 2023.
Eduardo Escobar: $4.72 million
Team: Los Angeles Angels
Like McCann, Eduardo Escobar was signed as a 30-something free agent with a single All-Star appearance. That being said, the infielder produced reasonably well in his stint with the team, albeit not enough to make a difference this year. By eating $4.72 million, the Mets were able to extract some prospects from the Angels.
Mark Canha: $3.3 million
Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Mark Canha leaving Oakland was sad. He was a Bay Area product through and through. The outfielder never really produced for the Mets and was sent to Milwaukee as part of the team’s mad dash for prospects at the trade deadline.
Chris Flexen: $3 million
Team: Colorado Rockies
For some reason, the Mets will gladly take on bad contracts from Seattle in exchange for relievers. This recent trade saw New York land Trevor Gott and his 4.03 ERA as well as Chris Flexen. The latter was scheduled to make $4 million in 2023 meaning Steve Cohen was responsible for a prorated amount of roughly $3 million. The team designated the starter for the assignment almost immediately after the trade was completed and released him outright within seven days.
Darin Ruf: $2.53 million
Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Talk about a disaster. The Mets gave up J.D. Davis and some prospects for Darin Ruf at the 2023 trade deadline. The team got 28 extremely disappointing games from him and paid him $2.53 million to go away in 2023—a great use of resources.
Bobby Bonilla: $1.19 million
Team: Retired
Bobby Bonilla has been covered by much better sources so there isn’t a need to detail this further. But New York once again paid him $1.19 million to not suit up for the franchise. Not that they would want him to play.
Tommy Pham: $833,000
Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
Tommy Pham was surprisingly decent for New York this season. Perhaps that explains why they didn’t need to cover all that much of his contract when trading him to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Well, that and the prospect they received for him was of the lottery ticket variety.
Bret Saberhagen: $250,000
Team: Retired
Bobby Bonilla Day gets all the attention, but Bret Saberhagen has a similar, although not as lucrative, arrangement with the Mets. A quarter of a million dollars to do nothing. Sign me up.
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New York Mets dead money problems
Perhaps the most shocking thing about the New York Mets dead money issues is the fact most of these deals were a bad idea at the time they were signed. That means Cohen isn’t responsible for most of the blame here. You can also understand the logic of signing Verlander and Scherzer. Then again, handing Chris Flexen $3 million just to acquire a middling reliever isn’t the savviest piece of business. Maybe he deserves some of the blame too.
The New York Mets will carry even more dead money in 2024 when the two Hall of Fame pitchers are handed more than $60 million combined to play elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s refuse to spend that much on 26 players.
Anyway, baseball may be America’s pastime but pissing money away on frivolous purchases isn’t far behind. Good to see Steve Cohen embrace both.
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