“Should’ve spent money like Dodgers” “Imagine paying an extra $101 mil to finish under .500” - MLB fans mock Mets after unprecedented luxury tax news

The New York Mets fans can't seem to catch a break in the offseason. Initially, they endured a massive setback when highly coveted pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto snubbed their team to join the Dodgers. Now, the MLB has dropped another bad news for the team.

Steve Cohen's team has been hit with a record luxury tax of almost $101 million after their disastrous 2023 season, which saw them finish fourth in the NL East.

The Mets payroll exceeded $374 million in 2023, only to see the team crashing to a 75-87 finish in the NL East, making it one of the biggest flop shops in MLB history.

This is a record high in payroll tax terms, as the last highest tax paid was by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 when they were hit with a $43.6 million tax.

The Mets fans saw the funny side of things after the latest news. Several fans wanted Cohen to emulate the Dodgers, who have handed record-breaking contracts to Shohei Ohtani and his Japanese teammate Yamamoto within a space of two weeks.

Mets' unprecedented luxury tax followed by other MLB teams

Apart from the Mets, rivals the New York Yankees also exceeded the fourth threshold of $293 million, which was added in the 2022 labor contract.

San Diego Padres ($39.7 million), the Yankees ($32.4 million), the Dodgers ($19.4 million), Philadelphia Phillies ($6.98 million), Toronto Blue Jays ($5.5 million), Atlanta Braves ($3.2 million) and World Series winners Texas Rangers ($1.8 million) are the other teams paying the tax this year.

The total tax to be paid by the team this year is around $209.8 million, the highest ever in MLB history. Although the Mets cut their payroll with the trades of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander earlier this year, they are projected to exceed the payroll threshold for 2024 as well.