Chicago Cubs: Breaking down LCS teams and their payroll

October 9, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher

(48) pitches the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets – $120,415,000

Cost Per Win: $1,337,944

According to Spotrac, the Mets rank 15th in baseball in terms of payroll, with over one-third of that going to three players in David Wright, Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon.

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Wright leads the pack with his $20 million salary, while Granderson clocks in at a tidy $16 million and Colon at $11 million. Similar to the Chicago Cubs, New York is still benefiting from the relative youth of their most talented players, including Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey – who make a combined $1.6 million this season.

The Mets lived in the shadows of the Washington Nationals for most of the season, and with good reason. The Nats were preseason odds favorites to win it all, only to fall flat on their faces down the stretch, failing to even make the playoffs.

New York, meanwhile, went out at the Trade Deadline and handled their business, bringing in slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes for the rest of the year, along with veteran pieces like Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson – not to mention arms such as Tyler Clippard.

That financial flexibility seemed to be lacking in recent years, but as the team’s core grows in experience (and cost) – the front office and ownership will no-doubt have tough decisions to make moving forward.

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