Attention is focusing on whether Steve Cohen, who is well-known as a billionaire and owner of the New York Mets, will try to recruit Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) in the next free agent market.

American media NESN said on the 4th (Korean time), “Ohtani is scheduled to become a free agent after this season, and the next free agent market will be a stage to test the true consumption power of the New York Mets.”

Ohtani, who has played in the major leagues since the 2018 season, will soon be eligible for free agency. Beginning with the remarks of Manny Ramirez (51), the “legend” who hit 555 homers in the major leagues, high-ranking officials of each club also highly value Ohtani, and the theory of his 500 million dollars in 10 years (approximately 625.5 billion won) is gradually gaining momentum. there is.

However, the higher Ohtani’s ransom is, the more the New York Mets are in trouble. It is highly likely that the Mets will pass the 4th stage ($293 million), the last of the luxury tax standard, for the total annual salary of the players this season. In a situation where it is already certain that a 90% tax (if the luxury tax is exceeded for two consecutive years) is imposed on every expenditure, a 110% tax (if the luxury tax is exceeded for three consecutive years) will be added in 2024 if the current trend is maintained.

Of course, you can also eliminate the number of cases of exceeding the luxury tax for three consecutive years by arranging other players. However, in the meantime, Cohen’s owner has never backed down from the signings he pushed with confidence, which draws attention to the Mets’ next offseason.

MLB Network’s John Heyman said, “At the 110% tax, Ohtani’s potential salary of $50 million (about 62.5 billion won) would be $105 million (about 131.3 billion won). But other owners (in the future) You can ask for much higher taxes, and even at 110%, a 10-year, $500 million contract would cost Cohen’s owner more than $1 billion.” 메이저사이트

In the CBA (collective agreement) negotiations agreed last year, the luxury tax standard, which was originally only up to the third stage, was increased to the fourth stage to check the aggressive investment of Cohen’s owner. Therefore, it is quite possible to increase the luxury tax tax rate in the CBA discussion, which will be discussed again in two years, and if the owner of Cohen does not change the line, the cost to Ohtani will naturally increase. No matter how great a player is, investing a billion dollars is an irrational situation for anyone to see.

NESN said, “Cohen is by far the richest owner in major leagues and has never been shy about showing off his wealth. The Mets are the only team to cross the $290 million threshold.” Should be astronomical. Should Cohen, the owner, step on the brakes or go all-in at this point,” he showed interest in the billionaire’s choice.