Mets' Steve Cohen Not Worried About Luxury Tax, Addresses Jacob deGrom's Contract Situation

Mets owner Steve Cohen is not worried about exceeding the $290 million luxury tax threshold. He also addressed Jacob deGrom's contract situation.

MLB implemented a fourth-tier surcharge level for reaching the $290 million luxury tax threshold, which many believe was added to cap the runaway spending of Mets owner Steve Cohen. 

But Cohen isn't phased by this new tax in the collective bargaining agreement. 

“We probably will [surpass it] … I wouldn’t be surprised and hard to say how much,” Cohen told reporters on Sunday morning at the team's spring training complex.

Shortly after Cohen addressed the "Steve Cohen tax," the Mets signed relief pitcher Adam Ottavino to a one-year, $4 million deal, which should bring their luxury tax payroll up to $286 million. They also acquired starting pitcher Chris Bassitt from the Oakland Athletics yesterday, who is projected to earn $8.8 million in his final year of arbitration. 

The Mets are still in need of a lefty reliever, and another bat, so It's not difficult to envision the club blowing past $290 million, and even, the $300 million-mark, which would make them the first team to do so in MLB history.

MLB and MLBPA struck a deal on a new CBA on Thursday, which saw the CBT rise from $210 million to $230 million this year. Cohen, baseball's richest owner whose net worth is said to be around $16 billion per Forbes, did not take offense  by the league's attempt to keep his spending in check. 

“My view is we have to look at that agreement in its entirety, and $290 million is a pretty big limit,” Cohen said. “I have to live in the baseball confines and I am OK with it.

“I know the name for it, it’s called the Cohen Tax. The way I describe it, it’s better than a bridge being named after you or something like that. It’s still a lot of money to spend on a payroll. I don’t feel that it’s so confining that I can’t live with it.”

Cohen was also asked about ace pitcher Jacob deGrom's contract situation, given the righty has the ability to opt-out of his deal after the season. And although the Mets "love" their two-time Cy Young Award winner, they aren't in a rush to start discussing an extension with him just yet. 

“We’re going to play the season and then we are going to figure that out,” Cohen said. “Jake will do what he does. We love Jake and we’ll figure it out at some point.”

Cohen was heavily involved in Saturday's trade talks that sent pitching prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller to the A's for Bassitt. The owner's involvement in this process was not unusual, as he also played a significant role in recruiting superstar hurler Max Scherzer, who signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets in November.