The 2021 MLB Draft was an objective disaster for the Mets. After being passed over by multiple teams and dropping lower than expected, the Mets selected Kumar Rocker with the tenth overall selection. Rocker was coming off of a dominant season at Vanderbilt, where he posted a 2.73 ERA in 122.0 innings with 75 hits allowed, 39 walks, and 179 strikeouts, but concerns about diminished fastball velocity raised questions and concerns and prompted teams to pass over him in favor of other players. The Mets knew ahead of time that they would need more than the MLB-assigned slot value for the tenth overall selection of $4,739,900 and followed a similar strategy that they had employed in 2019 and 2020, following the selection of a high-upside player who would command a high, overslot signing bonus with lower profile players who would accept underslot deals.
Steve Cohen and minor league pay
