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The New York Mets are not safe anywhere.
Two years after clinching the National League Championship Series, the Mets are on pace to lose 95 games, which would be their most since they also lost 95 in 2003. But this season is much more embarrassing than that.
The Mets entered this season overhauling a roster that stifled a league-best record last summer, turning into a league-high $329 million payroll.
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New York Mets’ Bo Bichette leaves the field after the top of the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago on April 17, 2026. (Erin Hooley/AP)
But it has been for naught, and the President of the United States has noticed.
“The Mets have the highest payroll in baseball and they lose all the time,” President Donald Trump told a crowd in Georgia — likely filled with happy Atlanta Braves fans.
The Los Angeles Dodgers actually have the most money committed to their roster, but in terms of 2026 payroll, the Mets are tops in the league thanks to the Dodgers’ layoffs.
Trump made the comment as he praised Braves Development Company CEO Mike Plant, saying the Mets should “maybe steal this guy.”
“You don’t realize how good he is. There are teams where they never go down. Then you have other teams that they rebuild for years. I don’t want to name teams because I know all the owners are my old friends, I get myself in trouble, but they always rebuild. This guy never rebuilds. He said he just stays at the top,” Trump said. “And then he loses the best player. He loses a great first baseman (Freddie Freeman), I’d say a great first baseman, and they keep going and they get stuff for the first baseman. And he was really good, the Dodgers got him. But I’ve watched the Braves for years and they’ve done a great job.”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Braves Development Company President and CEO Mike Plant as he invites Plant and former Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker on stage to speak during an event at Wheeler High School on July 22, 2026 in Marietta, Georgia. Trump traveled to Georgia to make remarks about education and promote his administration’s newly launched Trump Accounts program. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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The Mets payroll is headlined by Juan Soto’s record $765 million contract over 15 years, which he signed in December 2024. Francisco Lindor is also making nearly $34 million.
The Mets let Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz walk in free agency while trading Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, and acquired Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert, Bo Bichette, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. Despite the Mets ranking 27th in batting average, 26th in runs scored and 28th in OPS, while their rotation has the ninth-worst ERA in the major leagues.
Polanco is hitting .165 in an injury-plagued season, and Robert is hitting .211 after injuries. Bichette is coming off the worst season of his career, Semien is hitting .209 with a .606 OPS and Williams owns a 4.54 ERA (Weaver’s 1.98 ERA is a lone bright spot).
(L-R) Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets watch during the national anthem prior to the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, March 26, 2026 in New York, New York. (Dustin Satloff/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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New York is said to have almost everyone available on the trade market, except for Soto and some young talent on the big league roster.
The Mets are 43-60 and are 17.0 games back of the Braves in the NL East.
