Cohen not $plurging on Diaz replacement ... yet
Mets owner Steve Cohen has run up a record payroll for his team — and signaled a willingness to add to that payroll to make in-season upgrades to his roster.
But the multi-billionaire has limits, as he demonstrated when he backed off what he described as a risky investment in Carlos Correa. Now, he has shown himself to be decidedly cool on splurging immediately to replace injured closer Edwin Diaz.
“When you get into a situation like this, I think you stay calm, you don’t overreact. I think if you do, [you have] the tendency to make mistakes or overpay for somebody,” Cohen said Wednesday on The Post’s baseball podcast “The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman,” when asked about potentially trading for Diaz’s younger brother Alexis Diaz, the fireballing Reds reliever.
“We’re going to assess the people we have. We have some reasonably good depth. It’s a long season, and opportunities come up along the way and that’s how we’re gonna approach it. So, if we need to fill a hole, we’ll fill it, but I don’t see a need to overreact.”
Cohen suggested the money the Mets will recoup from insurance on Diaz — who suffered a torn patellar tendon while participating in the World Baseball Classic — will add to their flexibility on a payroll that climbed upward of $360 million, plus nearly $100 million in luxury taxes.
“Every dollar I spend is gonna be two, and everybody has their limits,” Cohen said, referring to the 90 percent luxury-tax bracket the Mets now occupy, the so-called Cohen Tax. “Saying that, if we get to the deadline and we’re right in there, we’re getting a rebate on Edwin’s salary for the year, so that should help and that gives us a little bit more room to play around.”
Without naming names, Cohen sounded bullish on high-end prospects Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez, who was demoted to Triple-A on Wednesday, among others.
“We have a very strong roster,” Cohen said. “And the other thing I’m counting on is some of our young players that are pretty much on the cusp I suspect as the year goes on, we’re going to start seeing those players come up and play and play a significant role on the team.”
Cohen also discussed the possibility of reaching a long-term contract extension with Pete Alonso, who is eligible to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
And he revisited his “personal decision” not to follow through on a 12-year, $315 million contract agreement with Correa, due to concerns over the long-term condition of the shortstop’s surgically repaired right leg.