PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Spring Training is halfway complete(!), which makes this an excellent time to dip into the mailbag for some questions and answers. It’s been a hot minute since we’ve done this, so let’s get to it. As always, some questions have been edited for length and clarity.
Are the Mets really not gonna sign another starter?
-- @PatrickH144 via X
I assume Patrick is referring to Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, two of the best starting pitchers in this year’s free-agent class who remain, bafflingly, unsigned. For as long as that’s the case, the Mets are going to continue popping up in rumors about them. Which is only fair. Kodai Senga is hurt and won’t pitch for at least the month of April. On paper, the Mets’ rotation is their weakest aspect heading into mid-March.
But I want to explain why a signing of Snell or Montgomery remains unlikely, even if one or both decides to take a short-term “pillow” contract. As things stand, the Mets have the highest payroll in baseball, just south of $330 million for Competitive Balance Tax purposes, according to the excellent salary tracking site Cot’s Contracts. That means they’re on the hook for a tax bill of about $77 million, after paying a record $100.8 million penalty last season. They would ultimately like to get under the highest tax threshold to avoid future financial and Draft penalties, and signing Snell or Montgomery would make that a lot harder -- especially on a short-term deal, where their average annual value would be higher.
For the better part of a year now, Mets officials have referred to 2024 as a “bridge” year to help them clear money off their books and develop prospects. The Mets will be a lot closer to that goal in ‘25. By ‘26, they should be fully there. But sticking to that strategy requires discipline, which means not reaching for low-hanging fruit on the free-agent market. You’ll notice that every player the Mets signed this offseason came on a reasonable one- or two-year deal. That’s no coincidence.
On top of it all, new president of baseball operations David Stearns genuinely does want to see what the organization has in its younger players. Tylor Megill looks improved, for instance, and it’s reasonable to think he could be a future piece for this rotation. Why not give him that chance now, when the opportunity has presented itself organically?
I understand that because this is a Steve Cohen-owned team, it would be foolish to count the Mets completely out of the Snell/Montgomery sweepstakes. But Cohen appears committed to this short-term austerity, making the answer to your question a likely no.