Where the Mets’ 2026 Payroll Stands to Start the Offseason

MLB free agency is underway, player options have been picked up, and general managers meet this week in Las Vegas to kickstart the offseason ahead of the Winter Meetings next month.

The Mets surely will be active on the free agent market (as well as the trade market), with the team expected to spend enough to bolster a roster that’s losing Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Tyler Rogers, Starling Marte, and a dozen others.

In 2025, the Mets spent $342 million on their roster, plus an additional $86 million in tax payments, totaling nearly $428 million—the second-most in baseball behind the World Champion Dodgers.

So, before the Mets get the ball rolling this offseason, let’s check in on where their payroll is.

Plenty of Roster Spots to Fill

The Mets currently have 10 players under guaranteed contracts, eight more players arbitration eligible, one guy out for the year on a $17 million player option (Frankie Montas) and a bunch of pre-arbitration players like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.

Let’s first focus on the contracts we know:

• Juan Soto — $61.86 million
• Francisco Lindor – $32.4 million
• Sean Manaea — $19.68 million
• Brandon Nimmo — $20.5 million
• Jeff McNeil — $15.75 million
• Kodai Senga — $15 million
• Clay Holmes — $13 million
• A.J. Minter — $11 million
• Brooks Raley — $4.75 million
• Richard Lovelady — $1 million

Those contracts, plus Montas’, equal $211.94 million.

Then come the arbitration-eligible players. Here is what MLB Trade Rumors projected for those salaries:

• David Peterson — $7.64 million (5.089 years)
• Tyrone Taylor — $3.64 million (5.093 years)
• Tylor Megill — $2.6 million (4.031 years)
• Francisco Alvarez — $2.4 million (2.164 years)
• Luis Torrens — $2.2 million (5.105 years)
• Jose Castillo — $1.7 million
• Reed Garrett — $1.4 million (2.143 years)
• Huascar Brazobán — $1.3 million (2.170 years)
• Max Kranick — $1.1 million (3.011 years)

Assuming they all get tendered a contract, that totals $23.98 million.

Now we’re at $235.92 million.

Just 16 of the aforementioned players will be active (Montas, Garrett, Kranick and Megill are out for the year), so for now, we can plug in the rest of the active roster (10 players) with those who would make the league minimum of $780,000. (Think Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Brandon Waddell and the like.) That’s $7.8 million.

And that brings the total payroll to $243.72 million. (Add or subtract a couple of million, given arbitration estimates are just that—estimates. We’ll get clarity on those in a couple of weeks. The Mets will also surely have players making the league minimum on the 40-man roster in the minor leagues, and those will count, too, eventually.)

The Mets Already Exceed the Luxury Tax Threshold

The first luxury tax threshold is $244 million, and according to Spotrac, the Mets have already exceeded it for the 2026 season. Between guaranteed contracts (and their actual luxury tax number), player benefits, and arbitration estimates, the Mets’ CBT number sits around $253 million—$9 million more than the first threshold.

So, Where Does the Offseason Go?

Steve Cohen has shown no signs of cutting payroll from the previous year, and they currently sit around $100 million less of what payroll was at in 2025. That’s plenty of room to work with to fill out eight or nine roster spots. (The only league-minimum roster spots I’d feel comfortable guaranteeing into 2026 are Nolan McLean, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, for now.)

David Stearns said he may be more aggressive in the trade market, and that makes sense. When you trade for someone, you trade for a known salary. You can’t plan what someone will sign for in free agency.

If I had to guess, the Mets will use the trade market to bolster the top rotation and potentially shed some money while getting pieces back. (Jeff McNeil’s name has been thrown around, which I would find ridiculous, and Kodai Senga has drawn interest.) Then free agency will be used to round out the bigger holes in the roster—center field, bullpen, and first base, namely.

It should be another fun, active offseason!

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