Mets hit with record $101M luxury tax after 4th-place finish - ESPN

NEW YORK — The New York Mets must pay a record luxury tax of nearly $101 million after a fourth-place finish in their division, among an unprecedented eight teams that owe the penalty for the 2023 season.

Owner Steve Cohen's Mets finished with a tax payroll of $374.7 million, according to figures finalized by Major League Baseball on Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press. That topped the previous high of $291.1 million by the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mets' tax bill came to $100,781,932 after they finished fourth in the NL East at 75-87 in the most expensive flop in baseball history. That more than doubled the prior high of $43.6 million by the 2015 Dodgers.

The Mets saved about $18 million for this year with their summer selloff that saw them trade Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, David Robertson and Mark Canha. Their projected tax payroll on June 30 was $384 million, according to MLB, and that additional $9.3 million in payroll would have resulted in a tax $8.4 million higher.

The final amount owed by the Mets would have been slightly more, but they benefited from a tax credit of $2,126,471 under a provision in the latest collective bargaining agreement for an payroll overcharge involving three players they traded. New York's two-year tax total is $131.6 million.

Other teams owing tax money are San Diego ($39.7 million), the New York Yankees ($32.4 million), the Dodgers ($19.4 million), Philadelphia ($6.98 million), Toronto ($5.5 million), Atlanta ($3.2 million) and World Series champion Texas ($1.8 million). The Blue Jays, Braves and Rangers are paying tax for the first time.

The Yankees and Mets were the only teams to exceed the fourth threshold of $293 million, added in the 2022 labor contract, an