Despite having the richest owner in baseball and a plethora of options, general manager David Stearns of the New York Mets announced Thursday morning that the team will not be seeking to replace injured star Kodai Senga with a free agent pickup.
Steve Cohen, the billionaire owner of a hedge fund, said to us Mets supporters, “I want a team that’s built to be great every year,” when he purchased the team in 2020.
And he was quick to put his money where his mouth was. Give credit where credit is due. He went out right away and advocated for aggressive trade moves to acquire star shortstop Francisco Lindor. Shortly after, he made the highest-ever shortstop contract offer to Lindor, a 10-year, $341 million deal.
He then proceeded to offer starting pitcher Max Scherzer a two-year contract worth $86.6 million, shattering the previous record for the highest-paid deal in terms of average annual value once more. He signed Justin Verlander the following year to essentially the same contract.
However, it seems that something snapped inside Steve Cohen’s head when those moves failed to materialize, and Cohen’s Mets appropriately turned around and traded Verlander and Scherzer in the midst of the 2023 campaign.
Cohen is now a guy running a team in New York similar to how they play in Minnesota, whereas before he was a guy who spent so much money that other MLB owners were getting upset.
Following the hiring of David Stearns, a front office executive from the small town of Milwaukee Brewers, as the team’s new general manager, the Mets have approached free agency very differently than they have in past offseasons. Other than Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who reportedly received a deal nearly as large as the $325 million he received from the Dodgers, they have reportedly passed on almost every high-priced item available.
The Mets now have a great chance to add one of the best arms still available, like two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, as news broke on Thursday that their ace Kodai Senga will probably miss the start of the season due to a shoulder injury. It seems obvious, doesn’t it? Seemingly not.
Reporters were informed by Stearns that they doubted the injury would alter their stance on free agency. In response to a query about adding someone before opening day, he said, “I don’t think so.”
GET UP, MAN.
Given the $283 million payroll of the Mets, some may argue that it’s absurd that I’m criticizing their spending, but they would be mistaken. First off, the Mets ate up a sizable portion of Scherzer and Verlander’s salaries in trades to acquire a better haul of prospects; therefore, more than $50 million of that money is going to players who aren’t even on the roster anymore.
Second—and perhaps most significantly—Steve Cohen is extremely wealthy. According to Front Office Sports, with a net worth of $19.8 billion, he is the fifth-richest owner in professional sports in North America and by far the richest owner in baseball.
That you’re past the luxury tax doesn’t matter to me, buddy. You ought to have given that some thought before promising us championships. For the first time in a long time, Cohen gave our fan base hope and lifted them out of mediocrity. However, Cohen’s sales pitch of hope is beginning to seem like a hollow promise, much like Barack Obama’s did in 2008.
His set list is a ridiculous collection of reclamation projects. The Mets’ options for opening-day starters now lack Scherzer, Verlander, and Senga, so they will likely start with Sean Manaea, Tylor Megill, and failed Yankee Luis Severino—all mediocre at best.
Snell and left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who just won a championship with the Texas Rangers, are two aces that are currently available on the market.
The Mets needed to improve significantly to stay up with the offseason gains made by division rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia, but they simply couldn’t. “No one remembers if you came in second or third place,” as Cohen stated in 2020.