Let me first just go on record right now and say that the salaries of major league baseball players these days are completely out of control and insane. There's simply no justification for them. None. Seriously, when a ballplayer who's barely hitting his weight is making $10 to $15 million a year, and a family of four has to scrape together $300 to $400 to watch him play in person, there's something profoundly wrong with America's national pastime.
The sport I grew up loving has been irrevocably harmed over the last couple of decades by greed. The stars always took center stage, but there was at least a grudging acknowledgment that they owed, if not their fame, than certainly their wealth to the patrons who frequented the ballparks or watched them from the comfort of their home. The money didn't grow on trees, that much they knew.
Those days are long gone. Today's professional athletes act as if the money that shows up in their checking accounts comes from some magical printing press. They are oblivious to the long-term consequences their bloated salaries are causing, not just to their own integrity, but to the integrity of the very game itself.
It is a system that is unsustainable, and deep down everyone knows it. Sooner or later, the breaking point will be reached. Fans will simply stop coming out to the ballpark; they won't be able to afford it anymore. The Law of Elasticity will eventually kick in and have the last laugh with these athletes. It is inevitable.
But it will not happen this year, nor is it likely to for several years to come. For the time being, baseball remains a top heavy sport in which the richest franchises have a built-in advantage over their poorer counterparts. Without a salary cap to constrain them, like the NHL, NFL and NBA currently have, baseball owners are ostensibly allowed to spend like drunken sailors on a three-day pass.
And one of those drunken sailors - Steve Cohen - happens to have the wherewithal to buy his own fleet of ships if he prefers. George Steinbrenner ain't got nothing on this guy. The Mets owner has already gone full bore on contracts for Francisco Lindor and Max Scherzer to the tune of $341 million and $130 million respectively; the former over ten years, the latter over three. And he's made it abundantly clear to his general manager Billy Eppler, that there's more where that came from should the opportunity to improve the roster present itself. Mets fans haven't been this giddy since they heard the Wilpons were selling the team.
That is certainly good news to Juan Soto, currently playing right field for the Washington Nationals. Since the Nats decided to go into full rebuild mode, their home park has resembled a morgue. The 23 year-old phenom has made it abundantly clear he wants out and just rejected a 15-year $440 million offer that was heavily backloaded to stay in Washington. That means he is officially on the trade block.
Let's cut to the chase. There are maybe three or four teams that can afford to sign Soto. The Mets, the Yankees and the Dodgers are the top three, and the Phillies are the fourth, but owner John Middleton may have over-extended himself a bit in Philly. Plus, he's already got plenty of hitting; it's his pitching that sucks. The Dodgers, after pilfering Freddie Freeman from the Atlanta Braves, had to defer $57 million of the $162 million they are paying him over six years. I doubt they have the resources to reel in a fish as big as Soto.
That means it's between the Mets and the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have for decades been the big spenders in town. While the Metropolitans had to be content to eat chop steak, the Yankees were dining on Filet Mignon. But now, for the first time in their respective histories, it's the National League franchise whose pockets appear to be deeper. Let's not forget that Cohen was willing to write off $45 million of his own money just to rid the team of Robinson Cano's contract. You know any other owners who have that kind of disposable income?
And the Yankees may have a much bigger problem than just Steve Cohen's ego to contend with. Their mega star Aaron Judge rejected a contract offer that would've paid him $30.5 million a year over seven years. He will become a free agent after the season. The bidding for his services will start at $400 million for ten years. And I do mean start. It could go as high as half a billion. With Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton already making $36 million and $29 million a year respectively, not even George himself would have the stomach to take on another big contract.
Which leaves the Mets in the driver's seat, as it were. All that's needed to bring Soto to Flushing is a) for Eppler to be willing to part with the top prospects in the system, including Francisco Alvarez, as well as one or two position players on the team, and b) for Cohen to remember to bring his check book with him.
That's it: the richest franchise in baseball with the prospects available to make this a done deal. Cohen would be nuts not to do it. And as for the argument that Soto isn't worth that kind of money, who is? Is Lindor worth $341 million? Is Scherzer worth $130 million? Will Judge be worth $450 million? Don't be ridiculous; no one is worth that kind of money. But like it or not, that is what they are fetching these days.
The truth is if Scott Boras tells Steve Cohen that the price to ensure Juan Soto will be patrolling right field for the Mets for the next 15 years is $500 million, then that's the price. Cohen has the money, he just has to pony it up. Imagine a lineup with Lindor, Soto and Pete Alonso in it, and a pitching rotation with Scherzer and Jacob deGrom at the top.
With the exception of the 1980s, the Mats have played second fiddle to the Yankees. With Steve Cohen at the helm, they finally have a chance to buy the whole fucking orchestra. Excuse me if I don't seem overly concerned about appearances right now.
As for the tab, don't worry about it. Tomorrow will get here soon enough.
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