Rival Executive Gets Honest About Mets Free Agency Advantage

Other MLB front office members are speaking about what the New York Mets have done in free agency this offseason.

Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto meets the media with general manager David Stearns (left) and agent Scott Boras (right) during a press conference at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Mets showed that they're not afraid to spend a staggering amount of money on free agents when they signed Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 contract last month.

Then again, this isn't the first time that the Mets have prove their willingness to flex their deep pockets ever since billionaire Steve Cohen became the Mets' owner in 2020.

New York had a $475 combined payroll (which includes luxury tax) in 2023. While that number decreased to $445 million in 2024, that's still a massive sum of money.

And Mets fans are well aware that they're not MLB's only deep-pocketed team. Both the cross-town Yankees and World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers boast their own immense wealth and use it every offseason to improve their rosters.

This is why the Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees seem to have separated themselves in terms of free agency spending each offseason. And Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts alluded to this during his recent appearance on 670 The Score’s “Inside the Clubhouse.”

“Obviously, the Dodgers have a lot more resources, naturally, from smart business moves they made years ago," Ricketts said during the show, as quoted by a January 19 article from Andrew Crane of the New York Post. "I don’t begrudge them any of that. Some teams just have outside resources that are funding their player moves and acquisitions, and that’s really hard to compete with.

"I understand when fans say, ‘How come you don’t spend like that?’ Because they think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it," Ricketts continued. "Which isn’t true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that’s about it.”

Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts on fans asking for the team to spend more:

"They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it, which isn't true at all. What happens is we try to break even every… pic.twitter.com/iGmUyioexU

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) January 18, 2025

Mets fans won't be feeling sorry for the Cubs or any other team that's upset about their offseason spending spree.