3 ways Steve Cohen can flex his financial might this summer

Steve Cohen is more than an owner willing to spend. In his year and a half owning the New York Mets, he has been cautious about not overspending to the point of ridiculousness. They have held back from completely obliterating the rest of the league’s payroll.

Although they’ve held back, the Mets should now be considered a team to consistently be well over the luxury tax and at or near the top of all major league teams in terms of dollars paid to their players. This summer will be no exception as they likely inch closer to the $300 million mark.

Without free agency available for major deals outside of the organization, Cohen can flex his financial might in different ways.

1) Mets owner Steve Cohen can flex his financial might by taking on a bad contract in a trade

It’s not all that mighty to trade for a good player with a high salary. There really aren’t any of those guys available this summer anyway or at least good enough to get shopped around. There will, however, be plenty of bad contracts on the books teams would willingly trade away to get out from under the payroll. This is where the Mets come in.

A benefit to having such a wealthy owner is the ability to get trades done in a different way. Taking on a bad contract to help lower the price of another player is something the Mets should be looking to do. These kinds of trades to happen as much as we think they do in baseball but they do occur.

The Mets aren’t necessarily in the position to make a trade like the one the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a few years ago when Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez were dumped off. Deals like that require some special circumstances. Frankly, the Mets don’t even have enough room on their roster to add three high-priced veterans. Financially, they probably would if they believed it would help them win.

One bad contract is a little more realistic. Cohen would give the green light in a second to Billy Eppler to execute a trade that brings the Mets a major player paired with a bad player. He’s all in this year no matter what the price is.

2) Mets owner Steve Cohen can flex his financial might by having no fear of designating players for assignment

The Mets are still paying Robinson Cano a lot of money this year even though he is now in the minor leagues and wearing SpongeBob uniforms. Would they do the same for someone else minus the Nickelodeon uniform punishment?

We have to believe there’s nothing Cohen wouldn’t do to win the 2022 championship. Even if it means paying someone to go away, there’s no price too high.

After saying farewell to Cano, the Mets don’t really have a major burden on their payroll or roster anymore. James McCann has the worst contract but his defensive abilities are valuable. Plus, he’s still a better hitter than Cano was showing earlier this year. He is not getting designated for assignment.

Trevor Williams is another candidate but he has pitched well enough as a starter and reliever. He’s also not making all that much money in terms of baseball salaries.

Even though there really isn’t a player who would fit this description, we could almost pair it with the idea of trading for a good player paired with a bad contracts. What’s to stop the Mets from trading for someone they need, taking on a bad contract in the process, and then DFA’ing the guy on the bad deal? It’s a two-for flex of financial might.