Poor money management can often lead to disastrous results and it’s certainly no way to run a business.

But as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money.

Except the New York Mets owner’s love for spending cash is landing him in trouble.

One of New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s former employees has thrown some shade his way.

The employee said, “The way he looks at this business is so different than his hedge fund. It’s more like how he buys art. And he just spends whatever it takes on art. The guy’s got a billion dollars worth of art in his house. He gets it because he can.”

As the wealthiest owner in baseball, Cohen is better equipped to build a team than anyone else.

But owners are balking at Cohen’s tendency to raise their costs.

An unnamed official with another Major League team said, “I think it’s going to have consequences for him down the road. There’s no collusion. But there was a reason nobody for years ever went past $300 million. You still have partners, and there’s a system.”

Those in the know read that statement as a threat and is indicative of the discomfort Cohen’s spending makes teams that have operated similarly recently.

Cohen successfully enticed Carlos Correa from the San Francisco Giants early Wednesday.

That paved the way to an unheard of $111 million luxury tax bill that is worth more than the total payroll of 10 MLB clubs combined.

Just to put this in perspective, Cohen’s $315 million spent to sign Correa is more than the Pittsburgh Pirates have spent on any and all free agents in more than ten years.

The fans love Cohen because, after all, they want to see their team win.

The players love him too and love that he wants to win.

Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ Chairman said, “Look, Steve’s put together a great team. We have a great team, too. So it doesn’t bother me. The timing is what it is. I’m focused on today.”

He also praised the Mets, saying it was “phenomenal” for the city and rivalry to have two great baseball teams.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said, “There’s a lot of owners out there spending a lot of money to make their franchises better, not just Steve Cohen and the New York Mets. He’s not a standalone in that way. We’ve spent a lot of money ourselves this winter. But there’s a lot of teams moving and shaking, and in most cases, that costs money.”

But some fans in smaller markets surely disagree.

A rival executive said, “Our sport feels broken now. We’ve got somebody with three times the median payroll and has no care whatsoever for the long-term of any of these contracts, in terms of the risk associated with any of them. How exactly does this work? I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.”

One thing that’s certain is that we will hear plenty more of this controversy when the season starts in just a few months.

Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.

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