On the heels of the Mets selling at the trade deadline, there was some damage control to be done. I mean, there are still players donning the orange and blue wanting to know what the heck is going on in the short term. That’s why Steve Cohen hopped on a plane to Kansas City.
He spoke with the team and make sure everyone was on the same page about what’s going on. This probably needed to happen after Max Scherzer shared quite a few details from private conversations with Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler.
In addition to meeting with the team, Cohen also answered questions in the dugout with a bunch of media members surrounding him. Here are five interesting things he said.
The Mets have an actual strategy
"If you're gonna have a 12% of getting into the playoffs, those are pretty crummy odds. I wouldn't want to be betting any money on that, and I don't think anybody else would, either. Hope's not a strategy."
– Steve Cohen pic.twitter.com/ih5XuLqNvc
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2023
I’ve said this a few times — credit the Mets for not doing anything halfway. They proved to be all-in over the winter by committing a record amount of money to payroll. When things weren’t looking like they’d work out, they made a complete about-face and committed to accomplishing other organizational goals.
It’s clear the Mets have a plan with specific goals they’re working toward. The same can’t necessarily be said about the Yankees right now. Lots of fans can agree with that.
Buck Showalter is near-lock to return in 2024
"I don't put it on Buck. I put it on the players."
Steve Cohen talks about Buck Showalter's future as Mets manager: pic.twitter.com/Es440PmOV5
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2023
Cohen mentioned multiple times in the above clip that Buck Showalter has a three-year contract, which includes the 2024 season. Unless something catastrophic happens (or Buck decides he doesn’t want to stick around?), Showalter will be back for another year.
Mum’s still the word on Alonso’s long-term future
Steve Cohen was asked about Pete Alonso's future as a Met:
"We love Pete as a Met. He's an integral part of the Mets. He's still with us for another year. We hope we work things out." pic.twitter.com/VJdbxLiG10
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2023
In his own post-trade-deadline press conference, Eppler declined to speak in any kind of detail regarding Pete Alonso’s future with the organization. That’s only right since both sides are probably in the midst of negotiating a long-term extension. Or, getting ready to pick talks back up again.
The Mets were open to discussing Alonso in trade talks over the past week, but nothing serious materialized. Let’s just hope they give them man a big bag of money so he can keep catapulting himself up the franchise’s all-time home run leaderboard.
No, the Mets aren’t punting 2024
More Cohen: "It doesn’t mean we’re not going to bring in free agents. It may not be to the extent that we did in the past because I’m carrying a lot of dead money. But trading Justin and Max creates a lot of dead money." https://t.co/OAgrsx1Wls
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) August 3, 2023
Do you think Cohen likes watching the Mets underperform? He’s clearly a competitive person, so why would you ever think he’d willingly go into a season with no chance of making any kind of noise?
The backend of the bullpen should be good with Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, and Edwin Diaz. New York also has its core group of players still intact. Some signings will need to be made for the starting rotation. But not going “all-in” on free agents doesn’t mean they’re not going to spend.
It sure seems like a serious pursuit of Shohei Ohtani isn’t going to happen, though. Not that their chances of actually landing him were that great anyways.
He’s in charge, in case you forgot
Steve Cohen was asked if he has the final word on baseball decisions:
"I can turn it down if I want. I own the club, right? Don't forget that." pic.twitter.com/pdgnv7fkbU
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2023
Cohen is a very rich and successful businessman. He also knows that making baseball operations decisions isn’t his area of expertise. But then again, he’s the owner and writes the checks. So if someone brings an idea his way and he doesn’t like it, of course he can say no. It’s his money, ya know!
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
