Steve Cohen's response to reporting on projected Mets' 2026 payroll

Mets' owner Steve Cohen responded to reports about the team's projected payroll for 2026, disputing claims that they would be cutting salary ahead of the new season.

Aug 8, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; A New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The New York Mets are reconstructing their roster this winter and there is still a lot of work to do. With three key pieces of the 2025 team gone (Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, and Edwin Diaz) and four new additions in (Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver), the Mets still have to add another outfielder, find more power potential and upgrade their rotation.

The Mets said they wanted Pete Alonso back — what they did said something else https://t.co/xQIPhknDHo pic.twitter.com/FvMcMIYB6L

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 19, 2025

Mike Puma of the New York Post reported on Friday morning that the Mets had a payroll target of $310-320 million for Opening Day of 2026, which raised questions about how they would fill their remaining holes with a $295 million luxury tax payroll already according to Cots Contracts. Owner Steve Cohen addressed the reporting on his personal X account, claiming that the idea the Mets would reduce payroll is not true.

As typical , the usual idiots misinterpreting a Post article on Mets payroll for ‘ 26. I can’t imagine our payroll to be lower than last year. It’s always hard to predict but that would be my best guess.

— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) December 19, 2025

For a frame of reference, the Mets began the 2025 season with an Opening Day payroll of approximately $322 million, a figure that does not include luxury tax penalties. The range that Puma detailed in his report falls below that mark, so Cohen's commentary suggests he is at least willing to maintain the same level of payroll as he began 2025 with, if not add to it.

Payroll watchers always forget to budget for waiver claims, player movement from minors to majors and trade deadline moves. That’s how it typically works.

— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) December 19, 2025

Cohen also elaborated that payroll calculations do not include in-season moves, such as waiver claims and trade deadline pickups. Even if the Mets begin the season with a payroll similar to last year's figure, there is a good opportunity they will increase that mark in season if they are in position to improve the roster with external additions.

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Where the Mets' 2026 payroll could be on Opening Day

There is nuance in the Mets' payroll situation which could lead to assertions from both Puma and Cohen to be correct. David Stearns has been hesitant to hand out longer-term deals this winter, which may limit potential splashes in free agency, but they have offered higher salaries on shorter-term deals for Polanco and Williams relative to their projected roles with the Mets.

Even if New York starts the season with a payroll of about $320 million, the upper limit of Puma's projection, they would still end up above last season's payroll through their in-season transactions like waiver claims and deadline acquisitions. While the Mets likely won't approach the roughly $350 million in payroll the Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting at for luxury tax purposes now (a figure that could rise if they bring in more talented stars like Kyle Tucker), there is more than enough wiggle room for Stearns to put together a competitive team that can contend for the postseason.

Part of that calculation could involve re-allocating money with trades as players like Jeff McNeil, Kodai Senga and David Peterson have been rumored to be available. One hypothetical trade of McNeil and prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Mitch Keller would allow the Mets to upgrade their rotation at a payroll-neutral figure while removing a higher-salaried player without a clear path to playing time.

Senga and Peterson could also be moved in deals to upgrade other areas of need, such as being part of a trade with Milwaukee for Freddy Peralta or San Diego, who could shop Nick Pivetta or Ramon Laureano. Salary swaps like those would allow the Mets to fill needs while reserving free agent dollars in case a player like Cody Bellinger is willing to sign a deal in their preferred price range.

One thing that has become clear, however, is that simply matching the deals that Alonso and Diaz got on the open market while keeping Nimmo would basically have the Mets at last year's payroll target without significant improvement. Cohen is also willing to swoop in if he sees opportunity to add value, like when he attempted to add Carlos Correa in 2023 before the team's medical staff recommended killing the deal, and Stearns has shown he can be opportunistic if he feels he can get a good value on a contract.

It is simply too early in the offseason to make blanket assumptions about what kind of payroll the Mets will carry into Opening Day when there are still a lot of opportunities to improve the team via free agency or trade. Cohen has vowed the Mets will continue to operate with a large payroll, which should allow them room to upgrade their roster, but what they do depends on how Stearns views the opportunities available to them and the costs of said acquisitions (in terms of both dollars and players traded away).

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