The Mets are entering an offseason in which they have many needs to fill, but only have around $16.5 million available to spend before crossing the luxury tax line as calculated by MMO’s own Christopher Soto.

It is unclear whether or not the team would be willing to eclipse the $208 million Luxury Tax line in order to make a competitive team in 2020.

Without question, the team should be willing to exceed the threshold for one season as first-time offenders are only responsible for paying 20% of every dollar spent over the luxury tax.

On top of it, they are set to have over $77 million to spend before hitting the luxury tax next offseason so they will likely avoid going over it in back-to-back seasons.

Early on, the Mets have not given much of an indication in either direction about whether or not they are willing to pay the luxury tax in 2020.

One thing worth debating right now, though, is the idea of trading for Starling Marte with rumors spreading about him over the last couple of weeks.

While there is no doubt that he could be a major difference-maker for the Mets, the 31-year-old is set to make $11.5 million next season.

Based on value, that salary is actually more than reasonable and is really a bargain when you talk about the idea of adding a player who had a 3.0 fWAR this past season.

But if the Mets are trying to evade paying the luxury tax, the team should probably pass on making this move.

If the team acquired Marte and didn’t send back any major salary back to the Pittsburgh Pirates, such as would be the case if they traded J.D. Davis (making the league minimum) and prospects, it would leave them with approximately $5 million to spend on other needs.

Having only $5 million to spend on free agents when the team still would need two relievers, a starting pitcher, and a backup catcher would be an absolute nightmare.

It would be almost impossible to satisfy all of those needs assuming that Brodie Van Wagenen doesn’t become the ultimate bargain-bin shopper.

If the Mets are willing to exceed the luxury tax, this becomes a whole different story and pursuing Marte is definitely a good idea.

That is a big if for this team and ultimately should be one of the major deciding factors for whether or not they go through with acquiring Starling Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates.