This Changes EVERYTHING For The New York Mets...

This changes everything for the New York Mets. What has defined the team's roster building in recent years has been highly paid players and emptying out the pockets more than any other team. But with Major League Baseball's new proposed salary cap, that could completely change the way that Steve Cohen and David Stearns turn around this roster in the future years moving forward. What's going on, guys? We'll talk all about that today on Mets Digest. I'm Josh Byrne. Guys, thank you again. For all the support, if you're one of the 64% of viewers who are unsubscribed, please do consider doing so, as this is a massive offseason for the New York Mets. Coming off of a 74-win season, there's a lot that needs to change, and a lot that needs to change fast, a lot that I believe will change fast, but simultaneously, we have the looming lockout over us. And we're already seeing the first cracks at a new CBA. And I've got to be honest, I think this is off to a relatively decent start. MLB proposes a $258.2 million cap for the salaries and a $180.2 million floor with a $1 million minimum salary and free agency after five years. Right now, there is no salary cap. There is a luxury tax. Although that luxury tax hasn't necessarily prohibited teams like the Mets, the Dodgers, even the Phillies and Yankees from exceeding that threshold. We know that the Steve Cohen tax, as it's called, was essentially instituted as a further tax for teams that go over that threshold. But Major League Baseball and the Committee of Owners, they want to put a cap on it because These smaller market teams. Not that they can't, but they are unwilling to spend that amount, and there is an argument that it is an unfair advantage. Now, what do I like here? I like the floor. I think more teams should spend more money. The salary cap, it's going to have major implications on the Mets because the Mets are essentially already guaranteed to have a payroll of that stature next year, And they have built their roster. Around the idea that at least for the foreseeable future to make up for deficiencies in the farm system, they can sign top tier free agents, starting with Juan Soto, who is making $51 million a year, essentially for the next 13 years. And then you have Francisco Lindor, who was really the first marquee move that the Mets made under Steve Cohen. And that was seen as a statement move at the time. Steve Cohen wanted to come in, assert his financial might, and he certainly did so. And that was a move that, when the Mets were owned by the Wilpons, we all know never would have happened. We all also know that the Mets never would have signed Juan Soto. So, it's going to be interesting to see, A, Is this proposal... Going to pan out exactly like this? I think it's fair to say no, it probably won't. And B, whatever proposal they do land on between the owners and commissioner and the players union, how are they going to institute this? What is the timeline going to be? Because they can't just institute a payroll cap immediately. There's going to have to be some sort of introductory phase. And higher payrolls are going to be grandfathered in. So how are the Mets going to be able to continue adding to the roster through free agency in the coming years if their payroll is already at a committed value that is very close to what these proposed salary caps are? If we look further at the proposal details here, again, 258.2 hard payroll ceiling. Another interesting tidbit is free agency eligibility after five years. That, to me, is a positive because it's a concession to the players. And we'll get into the players. rebuttal to this but currently it's after six full years of control so moving that down here I think is good I think you look at the NFL you look at the NBA and it's it's lower obviously in those cases they don't have the arbitration system necessarily that Major League Baseball has and and also in terms of the NFL versus MLB MLB is fully guaranteed contracts NFL doesn't have that And this is a proposed start in 2028. Again, I'm skeptical about instituting this hard line 2028. I need to see more details about how these higher paying teams are going to have their hard cap abide by this and how the older commitments are going to be grandfathered in, because that would actually be an unfair situation, I believe, to the teams that have a $300 million payroll already. Look at what the MLB Players Association said. And they're making this far from certain. We don't know if this is going to happen. I believe ultimately it will, but not like what it's being proposed here. I think it's fair to say that we all expected the first proposal not to be accepted. There's a reason people believe that there will be a longstanding lockout. Because if you look at the trend between the Players Association and the owners, It is a relationship that is soured. Not that it was ever all sunshine and rainbows, but it is soured. So let's look at what the union said here. MLB expressly conditioned these proposals on the players agreement to a salary cap system, which would drastically reduce overall player compensation, eliminate fully guaranteed contracts, and turn back the clock on fundamental playoff, fundamental player rights. Look. They're not going to be happy with it. They don't want a salary cap. They want a salary floor. And I think one way or another, both a salary floor and a salary cap will happen. And it's going to dramatically change how a team like the Mets is able to conduct themselves. They're going to lose an advantage. They'll still be able to be near that top of the salary cap year in, year out. But it's not going to be as noticeable as a leg up as it is now. And there are major questions about how it's going to be instituted. I don't necessarily agree with the players that they're going to reduce their overall compensation because more teams are going to be spending more money, but I also believe that there is an argument to be made here that the cap can be higher. I certainly believe that. We look more at the free agency fight. The MLBPA statement is their latest proposals regarding free agency would eliminate players rights by establishing an artificial free agency window subject to a salary cap, which would reduce player leverage and create a game of musical chairs pitting player versus player. Further, the suggestion that the only way to limit roster churn or incentivize earlier free agent signings is with a salary cap is entirely unserious. I understand where they're coming from. I do. But at some point, in order for us to enjoy baseball in 2027, there's going to need to be concessions from both sides. There's going to likely need to be a salary cap. The question is, how high is that cap going to be? And how high or how low is the salary floor going to be? And what's the new roster model going to be for a team like the Mets? They'd need an edge in the following things listed here. Draft and develop impact talent. We have seen, despite David Stern's pitfalls and errors, and... You know, all the heat he has taken as Mets president of baseball operations. We've seen whether he's been with the Brewers or even in his couple seasons with the Mets that he's able to draft. He has drafted a lot of good players and the Mets are going to continue to need to do that. Maybe they can shift some of their investment from free agency since they won't be able to just outspend everybody at will now and pivot that to scouting, which I know the Mets have already. invested a lot in scouting, but they're going to have to utilize their financial advantage in other ways. Do that through player analysis, scouting. Build a reliable, affordable bullpen. All these minor moves, these minor waiver claims, you don't think much of them until you're out of fresh arms in the bullpen. You can never have enough pitching. Trade for value before players become too expensive. The trading game is going to be huge. And again, it goes back to developing talent because you need to do that in order to have the trade chips necessary to go out and acquire those players on the trade market. Avoid paying premium prices for roster depth. Again, it's all about the development here and preserve flexibility for the next star. Yeah, I mean, the Mets are going to sign potentially Tarik Skubal. Add that to Soto, Lindor, Bichette's a top five paid player in baseball. Under this condition, they wouldn't have necessarily the flexibility to do that, to have all these high-paid players. Do you believe the Mets could thrive without outspending everyone? I think the answer is yes. Why? Because they're not thriving while they are outspending everyone. When was the last time the Mets went to the World Series? 2015. They had a top half of the league payroll that year. And I'm not saying that the Mets shouldn't continue spending in free agency and that it's not worth it, but... We know that building through free agency isn't the way, and Mets owner Steve Cohen said that. So at one point or another, they were going to probably pivot away from just shelling out the big dollars anyways. Development can close the gap. Look at the Brewers, look at the Rays. It's not all about spending the big bucks. It helps, it's not all about it. So hopefully Steve Cohen and his willingness to engage with the organization, his passion for it, that can continue to be. If it is not already an advantage, and he can still utilize his financial might into investing into the scouting department, investing into the analysis of players, into the coaching staff, into the training facilities, into the technology the Mets are using to train their players, all of these things, very valuable. And so this is going to, without a doubt, significantly change the way that the Mets conduct business, but the Mets were always going to need to flex their developmental might as well as their financial. And this is going to at least fast track them to doing so and could be a blessing in disguise. But let me know what you guys think below about this. Comment below. Let me know. And as always, guys, let's go Mets.