The Mets have not yet engaged in substantive conversations with the Chicago Cubs about Kris Bryant, but believe they can acquire him and still remain under the $210 million luxury tax, according to multiple league sources.
However, if they want to acquire a starting pitcher as well — Pittsburgh’s Tyler Anderson, for example, who is on their radar and would fit their rotation needs perfectly — they would likely need to move a salary like J.D. Davis’.
The asking price on another Pirates player in whom they have expressed interest, second baseman Adam Frazier, is probably too high for the Mets, per sources.
As for Bryant, SNY has consistently reported on the Mets’ interest. The later date of the amateur draft slowed conversations league-wide. The lack of substantive talks is likely a temporary situation.
Mets owner Steve Cohen recently confirmed SNY’s reporting that the team doesn’t want to exceed the $210 million luxury tax threshold unless they blow by it. Bryant presents a slightly tricky but doable case.
Publicly available information has the Mets’ current CBT payroll at about $10 million under the threshold. Internally, the team thinks it has less than that to spend, in part because of the extra expenses like 40-man roster payments that escalate the number at the end of every season.
But depending on when they theoretically acquired Bryant, they would peg the prorated portion of his $19.5 million salary at about $6.5-$7 million.
That’s tight, and doesn’t leave room for much else. But any talk about moving Davis and his $2.1 million salary is entirely speculative for now, as the Mets and Cubs haven’t exchanged proposals.