Mets and Yankees remain on right side of ‘I Give a S—t’ threshold

PORT ST. LUCIE -- “How about we call it the ‘I Give A S--t Tax' instead, for all the owners who actually give a s--t about winning?”

That was a player prominent in the union speaking a few days ago, suggesting a rebranding of the so-called “Steve Cohen Tax,” the new fourth tier of the luxury tax that small market owners needed because they were afraid of the Mets’ new owner.

I was thinking of that on Sunday, after several days spent watching Kyle Schwarber, Carlos Correa, Andrew Chafin, Kenley Jansen and Trevor Story -- all free agents who would have fit the Yankees, Mets or both -- sign elsewhere.

Despite all of that, it’s only fair to acknowledge near the end of a frenzied, two-part offseason that both local teams and their owners remain squarely on the side of giving a s--t about spending and winning.

That doesn’t mean the teams have spent well, or will be successful. The season will tell that story. But there are clubs who are dedicated more to pocketing revenue sharing money than contending, and neither the Yanks nor the Mets are that.

It’s why the New York teams were privately more aligned during CBA negotiations with the Players Association on the luxury tax issue than they were with their stingier counterparts in Anaheim, Detroit, Arizona and Cincinnati.

In fairness, some low payroll teams, like the Tampa Bay Rays, do spend significantly in hidden areas of infrastructure, technology and personnel. That’s a small-market organization that clearly cares, and they are not alone in that.

The case for Cohen caring is easy to make right now. In consecutive seasons, he signed Francisco Lindor to what has become an almost shockingly above-market 10-year, $341 million contract, then made Max Scherzer the highest paid pitcher by average annual value in baseball history.

Lately we have seen that even he has his limits. The Mets were engaged on Jansen, Chafin and others, according to sources, but unwilling to pay what those relievers made elsewhere. After Scherzer, they were never going to lead the pack bidding for another high-end free agent like Kris Bryant, Michael Conforto or Schwarber.

But it goes without saying that with a payroll the team estimates in the $280-plus million range, Cohen is spending to win.

It’s clear that Steinbrenner is as well. The Yankees have a top-three payroll in all of MLB, and have already raised it by about $50 million over last season.

Yes, after trading for Josh Donaldson and assuming the $50 million remaining on his contract, baseball operations could only hang around on the periphery of Correa and Story.

It’s hard to see what sort of deal would have worked for them, but it wasn’t the record $35.1 million average annual value that Correa received from the Twins, or the six-year, $140 million deal that Story signed with Boston.

Some evaluators around the league -- and many Yankee fans, it seems -- would have preferred Correa or Story over Donaldson.

Either side of that argument is valid (for the record, no less an evaluator than Buck Showalter is a big fan of the Yankees’ strategy, believing that shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be a surprise asset in the Bronx).

For the Yankee fan who didn’t like the team’s offseason, or the Mets fan cranky about Bryant, Aaron Loup or Javy Baez: I hear you.

But imagine if you loved the Reds. Or the Pirates. Or the Diamondbacks. Imagine if you invested your time and money and affection, and the owner couldn’t be bothered to care.