Mets Sign Kodai Senga
Steve Cohen cares not for your luxury tax threshold. He wants one thing and one thing only – the Mets to win a World Series Championship. He is proving that he will do anything and everything that he can to achieve that goal.
After getting spurned by longtime staff ace Jacob deGrom – who signed a massive five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers, Cohen and Company have gone to work.
The signed reigning American League Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86.66 million deal to replace deGrom. They brought back center fielder Brandon Nimmo with a hefty eight-year, $162 million contract. They added a premium setup man to the mix by inking David Robertson to a one-year, $10 million pact. They added another solid arm to the middle of their rotation by signing José Quintana to a bargain two-year, $26 million deal. The Mets also acquired Brooks Raley in a deal with the Rays. For most teams, that would have represented a terrific offseason. Not for the Mets.
They went back to work late on Saturday night, signing the top remaining right-handed hurler on the free agent market – Kodai Senga – to a five-year, $75 million contract. The 29-year-old hurler compiled a stellar 1.94 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 156/49 K/BB ratio across 144 innings last year for the Softbank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Senga noted all along that his preference was to play for a contender, and Cohen’s spending certainly shows that the Mets are going to compete. He reportedly had an offer on the table with more money from the Padres, but Senga ultimately chose the Mets. He also had a strong preference for an opt-out clause after the third year of the contract – which the Mets included.
He had been projected by MLBTradeRumors to land exactly the contract that he did – five years and $75 million – but given the other contracts that we have seen for starting pitchers in this market, it feels like the Mets actually got a nice value here. Unlike many players that come over from Japan, the Mets do not owe an additional posting fee, as Senga was a free agent after exercising an opt-out clause in his contract with the Hawks.
The current projection by Roster Resource for the Mets payroll entering the 2023 season is a staggering $334.68 million. That blows past the fourth and final tier of the Competitive Balance Tax threshold ($293M). That means that with that projected payroll, Cohen and the Mets would owe a tax penalty of $104.85 million – more than the entire payrolls of 10 big league clubs.
While some owners are crying poor and feel like more rules need to be put in place to reign in Cohen and his spending, as a fan of the game it’s awesome to see an owner so invested in winning that he’s willing to do whatever it takes. It would be nice if the other owners followed suit and invested more in their own products.
Blue Jays add Kiermaier
The Blue Jays jumped in on the free agent fun over the weekend. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported on Saturday that the Jays had reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. No word yet on the financial terms or the duration of the contract – which is still pending a physical.
Kiermaier was limited to just 63 games last year with the Rays due to a torn labrum in his left hip that wound up requiring season-ending surgery in early August. The 32-year-old defensive wizard remains an elite center-field defender and represents a solid addition for the Blue Jays. His presence should enable the club to give George Springer additional time off from playing the field. He possesses a nice blend of power and speed, but injuries have taken a toll on his production the last few seasons. If he manages to stay healthy, he’ll make an impact for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.
MLB Quick Hits: Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Cardinals are believed to be the mystery team in the mix for Carlos Rodón… Heyman also notes that the Giants, Cubs and Twins are among the teams still pursuing superstar shortstop Carlos Correa… Frank Schwindel signed a contract with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball… Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Twins have inquired on right-hander Alexis Diaz, though there’s no belief that the Reds will move him… Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that the Giants pursuit of Chris Bassitt is “not in the cards” at this moment… Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago reports that the Cubs are interested in free agent slugger Trey Mancini… Dylan Cease earned a $2.4 million bonus from the league’s newly-established $50 million bonus pool for pre-arbitration players. Yordan Alvarez ($2.381 million) and Alek Manoah ($2.191 million) were the next biggest beneficiaries… The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization withdrew their signing of Abraham Almonte after he reportedly failed his post-signing physical… The Diamondbacks have expressed interest in signing Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami… The Rockies signed T.J. Zeuch to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training… The Marlins brought in C.J. Hinojosa on a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp… The Cubs inked southpaw Eric Stout to a minor league deal… The Rangers officially announced Andrew Heaney‘s two-year, $25 million contract… The Nationals announced Trevor Williams’ two-year, $13 million pact…. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Japanese superstar Munetaka Murakami will be posted for MLB teams following the 2025 season… According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers have expressed interest in Edwin Rios and Seth Lugo.
