A source told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York the breakdown of the two-year deal Bartolo Colon signed with the Mets. His salary is $9 million in 2014 and $11 million in 2015.
Using arbitration estimates from MLB Trade Rumors, Rubin calculated the Mets current payroll to be at $85.9 million.
That number is just a shade below the $87 million figure that Sandy Alderson tossed around to reporters before the Winter Meetings when he said that the payroll level would be more than 2013.
Rubin rounded out the 25-man roster by adding 13 players at the $500,000 major league minimum. So there’s a very good chance that when all is said and done, the Mets will easily eclipse that $87 million figure with even a few minor player acquisitions.
To their credit, the Mets made a bold statement by signing Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon and Chris Young to contracts totaling $87.25 million. That was more than what I expected them to do.
That said, it’s still a far cry from where a New York market team should be, and anything under $95 million will likely have them ranking in the bottom ten of all 30 MLB teams.
