The New York Mets just sealed their fate, clinching last place in the National League East with a brutal 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday. Talk about a gut punch: a $357 million player payroll, the second-highest in Major League Baseball, bought them a 73-87 record. That’s right, per FanGraphs, they coughed up nearly $5 million for every single win this season, assuming they stick at 73 victories. Compare that to the Dodgers’ MLB-high $408 million payroll, which delivered 97 wins and a cost of $4.2 million per victory going into Friday. It’s an absolute nightmare for owner Steve Cohen.
How Did $357 Million Buy So Much Heartbreak?
This last-place finish is a total shocker, especially since the Mets hadn’t sunk this low in the NL East since 2003. Sure, they weren’t world-beaters every year, but they hit three NL Championship Series and even a World Series appearance in the 23 years that followed. Just five seasons ago, these guys won 101 games and finished second in the division last year with an 83-79 mark. The belief was there that first place was attainable with Cohen’s deep pockets and David Stearns, once a top executive, at the helm. But this season went sideways from day one, going 7-19 in April and sitting 11.5 games out of first by May 1. A month later, they were 14 games back and never got closer than 13 games. Manager Carlos Mendoza was fired by the end of June when they were 34-47. Seriously, the best entertainment for Mets fans in the second half was reportedly a reporter rating ballpark hot dogs. You can’t make this stuff up.
The Big Swings That Fell Flat
The Mets went all-in to bolster their roster, adding Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to the bullpen, and bringing in big bats like Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert Jr. Freddy Peralta was supposed to be a top-three arm for the rotation. On paper, it sounded like a championship contender, right? Wrong. Other than Luke Weaver, who had an 1.84 ERA before being dealt to the Pirates at the trade deadline, none of those signings paid off. Bichette is sitting with a .259/.310/.386 slash line, Semien’s batting a paltry .216 with a .624 OPS, and Polanco barely played, appearing in only 37 games due to a brutal run of Achilles, ankle, and wrist injuries. Williams carried a 4.54 ERA, and Peralta, who was supposed to anchor the rotation, had a 4.99 ERA before he was traded to the Rays. It’s a sobering look at how even a massive payroll doesn’t guarantee wins.
The Mets have two games left to try and salvage a couple more wins, but the damage is done. Finishing last with that kind of spending is a brutal lesson for any club in the league. What happens next in Queens after this kind of historic financial flop?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply