Scott Boras on Mets owner: “You can envision Steve Cohen hanging on to the Empire State Building ... And it’s maybe not Steve Cohen, it’s Steve Kong"

Scott Boras, Brandon Nimmo's agent, has praised New York Mets owner Steve Cohen for bringing his client to the team.

Cohen has been on a spending spree this offseason as he looks to make a worthy World Series contending ream. The Mets' luxury tax payroll is $353 million due to the signing of the homegrown Nimmo for an eight-year $162 million contract, and Cohen has shown no signs of stopping.

His journey as the Mets boss started in 2012 when he was denied by the Magic Johnson led group that gave him a one-on-one tussle for the ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cohen had to settle for a stake in the franchise he grew up supporting with a much smaller investment. In the next few years, he would become the undisputed majority owner of the Mets and is willing to spend in excess of what's expected of him.

Boran has compared Cohen's current stature to that of a Goliath and said that the baseball game needs such personalities.

“Our game needs Goliaths,” Boras said at a press conference at Citi Field to announce Nimmo’s signing. “We have to have Goliaths. You can envision Steve Cohen hanging on to the Empire State Building. There he is. And it’s maybe not Steve Cohen, it’s Steve Kong. But when you’re there, and you’re looking at it, how good is it for the game? It’s really good for the game.”

The New York Mets have spent more than $461 million in fresh deals for free agents in this offseason. They have signed Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and David Robertson, re-signed Edwin Diaz and now Brandon Nimmo. The Mets' latest signing is catcher Omar Narvaez on a one-year, $8 million contract with a $7 million player option for 2024.

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The 'Steve Cohen Tax' has become a reality

Scott Boras also talked about Cohen and Mets general manager Billy Eppler being hungry for a title and that it's great to see the fight the organization is putting up. He said:

“Certainly (Cohen) lets Billy do his work, but he’s also someone that really gives you a clear picture about what his in-line is as an owner. There is a real fight in overcoming something that he inherited, that the organizational talent depth has been a problem. He knows he has to do more at the major league and free-agent level to address that. He’s very clear about it."

The highest luxury tax threshold that's being dubbed the "Steve Cohen Tax" is set at $293 million.

Every team that exceeds the limit has to pay extra for 90% on every penny. If the Mets were to stop their expansion, even then Cohen and his management would have to pay $80 million in tax, higher than at least three other teams' total luxury tax payroll.

It remains to be seen if Cohen's efforts bear fruit as the Mets look to improve on a 101-win season that saw them exit the playoffs early.