The Mets are showing their priorities. By trading David Robertson to the Marlins and following that up Saturday by dealing Max Scherzer to the Rangers, the Mets not only have surrendered in 2023, but perhaps to some degree in 2024 as well, while demonstrating that what matters most — no doubt — is increasing the long-term vitality and upside of their farm system.

A month ago, it would have been nearly impossible to imagine Scherzer or co-ace Justin Verlander being traded. Now, however, the Mets have dealt Scherzer and have had discussions about Verlander. Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to make it possible to go to Texas and — of all things — help the Rangers replace Jacob deGrom, who is out for the season (and maybe most of next year) after he needed elbow surgery.

It is a sign that the Steve Cohen Mets are willing to consume massive portions of contracts to improve the farm system — in this case it is another $36.6 million or so that Cohen agreed to eat after Scherzer picked up his $43.3 million player option for 2024. Cohen did that to gain access to the Rangers’ third-ranked prospect (per MLB.com), infielder Luisangel Acuña, the brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.

Cohen does not do half-measures. He refused to allow the inclusion of any top prospects to upgrade the team at the trade deadline last year, so as not to disrupt the big-picture goal of building toward a monster farm system. He was willing to support by far the largest payroll ever (plus about $100 million in luxury tax) in 2023 to further protect the system. And now that the 2023 team has gone south, Cohen is disassembling it, at substantial cost, ahead of the trade deadline. Thus, it is hard to imagine anyone the Mets would not, at minimum, discuss trading if it meant the ability to keep growing the farm.

The Mets are fully open for business leading to the 6 p.m. trade deadline on Tuesday. The deadline dealing has become the 2023 Mets’ playoffs — considering the actual postseason is no longer a consideration.

Like Scherzer, Verlander is making $43.3 million this year, is due the same next season and can trigger a $35 million option for 2025 if he throws 140 innings in 2024 and finishes that season without an arm injury that would keep him from being ready for the 2025 campaign.

As one executive said, the first calculation in trading players owed that much is to determine the “giveaway zone” — essentially, how much would the Mets have to eat to convince a team to take Scherzer or Verlander (due to their ages, injury concerns and lowered production) with no prospect return. Then how much more would it have to be for the Mets to gain a prospect like Acuña. In this case, the Mets are eating all but $22.5 million of the roughly $59.1 million Scherzer is still owed.

Teams will have different dollar figures they could tolerate absorbing. But just as an idea, Verlander, who had a 1.46 ERA in his past six starts, is due roughly $94 million from now, assuming the $35 million option kicks in. If he were to eat the same percentage for Verlander as he did for Scherzer, Cohen would have to absorb about $58.3 million.

That would seem an uncrossable bridge, except we are still getting used to an owner who is like no other when it comes to finances. There are three items that accentuate Cohen’s willingness to eat what is necessary if it furthers his agenda:

1. Cohen has mentioned multiple times how unsettling it was not to be able to even talk to strong candidates to run the Mets baseball operations department because they were under contract elsewhere. If he were interested in hiring someone for his hedge fund who worked elsewhere, Cohen could in general offer a raise that made it possible. So, if there is a way to use money to gain what he wants (personnel, art, etc.), Cohen has shown a strong willingness to use it.

2. Cohen has insisted he will judge his ownership by the ability to build a farm system that annually pumps high-end talent to the big club or puts them in play in any trade. He knows that it takes significant time to build. He already has tried to speed it up with money for facilities and technology. He is showing he will not stop at essentially buying prospects via trades of his veterans.

3. Cohen will eat money. Even before the Scherzer deal, through taking players off the 40-man roster or trades, Cohen had about $55 million in dead money this year via Robinson Cano, Eduardo Escobar, James McCann, Chris Flexen, Darin Ruf, Tommy Hunter, Tomas Nido and Dennis Santana. That nearly doubles when the “Steve Cohen Tax” is applied. Then add another $6 million or so for the kind of guaranteed major league deals for optional depth the Mets have that most other teams would not: think Elieser Hernandez, Joey Lucchesi, Danny Mendick, San Coonrod, John Curtiss and Jeff Brigham. Again, nearly double it with the tax.

The Mets already have McCann, Nido and Scherzer as dead money for next season at over $30 million. Keep in mind it gets a little more financially painful for 2024. As a third-time payer, the Mets’ top-tier tax rate will climb from 90 percent to 110 percent. But, again, that so far has played like pennies to Cohen. So unless he shifts his financial philosophy, the bigger question might be; What will he do about 2024?

The Mets already were going to have to replace Carlos Carrasco, who will be a free agent after this season. Now they have to replace Scherzer as well. A Verlander trade would make it three. The other two veteran starters under control are Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga, with Tylor Megill and David Peterson having taken huge steps back this year.

If the plan is still not to trade big prospects, even for pitching, then the Mets would have to buy replacements, on top of whatever Cohen is eating on Scherzer, and potentially on Verlander.

Everything to know about the Mets' historic sell-off

After a disappointing season, the Mets are selling off their historically expensive roster.

The Amazins dealt out some big name players before the MLB trade deadline — including now-former co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Below are the players the Mets have shipped out:

Tommy Pham

The Mets traded the outfielder minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona is sending back 17-year shortstop Jeremy Rodriguez, who has a .751 OPS rookie ball this season.

Justin Verlander

The Mets traded out Verlander, a sure-fire Hall of Fame pitcher, back to his former team, the Houston Astros.

The Amazins reportedly will receive top Astros prospect Drew Gilbert, a Double-A outfielder, and 20-year-old outfielder Ryan Clifford, who owns a .919 OPS through 83 games in Low- and High-A this year.

Max Scherzer

Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner that was a co-ace with Verlander, was sold off to the Texas Rangers.

The Mets landed one of the Rangers’ top prospects, Double-A infielder Luisangel Acuña, brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña.

Mark Canha

The veteran outfielder was dealt to the Brewers for Justin Jarvis, a promising 23-year-old pitcher that was ranked No. 12 in the Brewers’ farm system.

David Robertson

The Mets traded closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins, a move that started off the club’s deadline dismantle.

In exchange for Robertson, who is having another terrific season, the Mets received a pair of minor leaguers, infielder Marco Vargas and catcher Ronald Hernandez, from Miami.

Shohei Ohtani will headline the free-agent market (for hitters and pitchers), and Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a strong chance of coming to MLB. Chiba Lotte Marines sensation Roki Sasaki is a much lower possibility. Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Julio Urias are probably the next level, with Eduardo Rodriguez and Marcus Stroman likely to trigger opt-outs to join the free-agent market with Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito, Sonny Gray and Luis Severino.

It was hard to imagine any owner substantially paying down the cost of Scherzer, and perhaps even Verlander, to make them attractive in trades, then diving right back into the market to replace them. But Cohen has forced the industry to think differently.