The Mets and Yankees have each made their fair share of big splashes this offseason, and it’s not even Christmas yet. The best holiday gift of all, though? The fact that neither team is done making roster improvements.
Not long ago, we noted that the Amazins and Bombers had control of the top two spots when it came to the 2023 payroll leaderboard. That hasn’t changed. But if you’re wondering just how much more money New York baseball teams are spending than the rest of the league this winter, it’s a lot. Like, an absurd amount of money.
According to Spotrac, the Mets have signed nine players for a total of just over $806 million (if Carlos Correa’s deal becomes official). The Yankees are second on this list, signing four players for a total of nearly $584 million.
If you’re wondering who is in third place, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies. They’ve laid out almost $388 million to three players.
How can we be so sure that neither the Mets nor the Yankees are done this winter? Well, Hal Steinbrenner said so during Aaron Judge’s press conference on Wednesday:
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 21, 2022
Even though they do have some options already on the roster, the Yankees could use another outfielder. One would imagine that’s where the focus is for general manager Brian Cashman right now.
You’d think the Mets are good, but Mike Mayer of Metsmerized is reporting otherwise:
Sources tell me the Mets are not done, they still hope to add another bat and reliever.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 21, 2022
Does this mean a reunion with Michael Conforto is still in the cards? How about a trade with the White Sox for All-Star closer Liam Hendriks? At this point, anything is possible for the Mets, so everything is in play.
Thanks to all this spending, the Mets’ 2023 payroll (plus luxury tax) is head and shoulders (and knees and toes) ahead of everyone else:
Updated #MLB CBT Payrolls + Estimated Tax Bills
1. NYM: $502M
2. NYY: $310M
3. SD: $251M
4. PHI: $245M
5. TOR: $228M
6. ATL: $225M
7. LAA: $219M
8. LAD: $211M
9: HOU: $208M
10: BOS: $206M
11. CWS: $201M
12. CHC: $200M
13: TEX: $199M
14: COL: $184M
15: SF: $179M1/2
— Spotrac (@spotrac) December 21, 2022
This is not brand-new information, though. If we look at offseason spending over the past three years, both the Mets and Yankees are still at the top:
Top Team Spending over last 3 Offseasons per @spotrac:
1️⃣ NYM – $1.6 Billion
2️⃣ NYY – $833 Million
3️⃣ TEX – $830 Million
4️⃣ SDP – $824 Million
5️⃣ PHI – $794 Million
6️⃣ TOR – $600 Million
7️⃣ LAD – $584 Million
8️⃣ CHC – $479 Million
9️⃣ HOU – $404 Million
? MIN – $355 Million pic.twitter.com/2BZCQiUPGE— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) December 21, 2022
We talked about how it’s a good time to be a New York sports fan earlier this week. That’s especially the case if you like baseball. Both squads think there’s more work to be done before Opening Day, so now we can just sit back and wait to see what else happens.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
