Mets must pay record $101 million luxury tax bill after disastrous 2023

The bill has come due on the Mets’ record payroll from last season.

After a 2022-23 offseason in which team owner Steve Cohen splurged to add starting pitching and re-sign his own stars, the Mets will pay a record luxury tax of $100.7 million, according to the Associated Press, which obtained the numbers from MLB.

Put in context, the Mets will pay more in luxury tax than eight teams had in Opening Day payroll last season.

The Mets finished with the highest payroll in major league history at $374.7 million, as computed for luxury tax purposes.

The Mets didn’t receive much bang for that buck.

After a sluggish start, team officials decided on trading their highest-paid players, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, and the Mets finished fourth in the NL East with a 75-87 record to miss the playoffs.

Edwin Diaz’s return on a five-year contract worth $102 million and Brandon Nimmo’s $162 million deal over eight years also helped spike the Mets’ payroll.

Previously, the 2015 Dodgers had the highest payroll in MLB history at $291.1 million.

The luxury tax on that payroll was $43.6 million.

It’s expected the Mets will lower their payroll for next season — especially after missing on Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who reached an agreement Thursday with the Dodgers — but will likely have commitments beyond $300 million.

The largest contract given by the Mets so far this offseason is the one-year deal worth $13 million that Luis Severino received.  

As it stands, Spotrac computes the Mets’ payroll for luxury tax purposes (including estimates on arbitration-eligible players) at $283.5 million.

But the Mets still have multiple holes to fill within their starting rotation and are expected to add at least one bat, if not two.

Though the Mets traded Scherzer and Verlander (to the Rangers and Astros, respectively), they are still paying half of each pitcher’s salary for next season.

That tab for the Mets is $41.61 million.

The Mets will also be paying $8 million on the final year of James McCann’s contract. The veteran catcher was traded to the Orioles last winter, with the Mets agreeing to pick up most of the $24 million he was still owed over two seasons.

The Mets’ penalties for surpassing MLB’s luxury-tax threshold extended beyond the 60 percent surcharge for every dollar spent on payroll beyond $233 million.

The team will also move back 10 spots in next summer’s draft after failing to land a top-six selection in the lottery that was conducted at the winter meetings.

The Mets will now select No. 19 overall instead of ninth as a penalty for finishing $40 million or more above the initial tax threshold.

The Mets moved back 10 spots in last summer’s draft (selecting 32nd overall) as a penalty for surpassing the initial luxury tax threshold by at least $40 million.

The Mets aren’t alone in paying.

According to the AP, the Padres ($39.7 million), Yankees ($32.4 million), Dodgers ($19.4 million), Phillies ($6.98 million), Blue Jays ($5.5 million), Braves ($3.2 million) and Rangers ($1.8 million) also have tax bills.

The Blue Jays, Braves and Rangers are paying the tax for the first time.