The impact of Steve Cohen’s wallet is being felt around the league.
The richest owner in baseball shelled out $78 million to the premier center fielder in this year’s free agency class and other teams, like the Philadelphia Phillies, are struggling to keep up.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the Phillies wanted to flex their ownership’s financial might but couldn’t after watching the Mets blow past the luxury-tax threshold and reach payroll heights the Phillies never considered.
Philadelphia needs a new center fielder and the only options for improvement are off the board with Starling Marte signing with the Mets and Byron Buxton agreeing to a contract extension in Minnesota.
Now the market consists of players like Odubel Herrera, Brett Gardner, Juan Lagares, and Kevin Pillar. It’s a daunting position to be in and certainly not enviable. It’s also the reality the Mets would have seen if they hadn’t signed Marte, although they still have Brandon Nimmo to play center.
Gelb reports that the Phillies might have pushed to top the deal the Mets gave to Marte and the premium New York paid for him but they decided they weren’t in a position to devote those resources to a position when they have so many other holes.
It’s been a decade since the Phillies have made the playoffs. Right now it looks like one owner will do what it takes to win ball games and the other will tread lightly in dealings.
Cohen’s wallet advantage took a season to be seen on the free-agent market as he’s already committed north of $250 million to four players over the next four seasons. And while the Mets already boast the highest payroll in baseball currently, they might not be done. They’re still linked to multiple players including Kris Bryant, Yusei Kikuchi, and Carlos Rodon.
The Mets are willing to spend to win. That’s a sentence most thought they’d never hear. The newfound spending spree is affecting the way other teams operate and that can only mean good things for New York.
