The 2022-23 MLB offseason has been a wild one, to say the least.
In short, the entire offseason has been dominated by the New York Mets and owner Steve Cohen’s epic spending spree.
New York has managed to land several top free agents, including Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Brandon Nimmo, Adam Ottavino, Omar Narvaez, David Robertson, and Jose Quintana.
A deal with Carlos Correa is still pending, but could be done soon.
The Mets have essentially won the offseason, or at least the first few months of it.
Baseball Reference tweeted a graphic that showed which teams have spent the most money in free agency, and to nobody’s surprise, the Mets are at the top.
#MLB Free Agency spending (so far):
Mets: 9 FA, $806,166,666
Yankees: 4 FA, $573,500,000
Phillies: 3 FA, $387,000,000
Padres: 4 FA, $353,000,000
Cubs: 5 FA, $263,300,000
Rangers: 2 FA, $210,000,000
Astros: 3 FA, $105,000,000
Giants: 3 FA, $93,500,000
Cardinals: 2 FA, $87,500,000 pic.twitter.com/4wIgmwylkT— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) December 21, 2022
It’s no secret that Cohen isn’t afraid of the luxury tax thresholds or the penalties that may come with exceeding them.
Cohen’s only goal is to win and bring a championship home to New York.
And there’s a stark contrast between the Mets and teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, who have spent the least of the teams featured on Baseball Reference’s list.
While being in a big market like New York helps, it ultimately goes to show just how aggressive Cohen has been in comparison to other team’s owners, even more so than Hal Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees.
And if the deal with Correa ultimately gets worked out, then that number will increase for the Mets, who have already spent big on nine total free agents.
