Steve Cohen, Mets continue to monitor free-agent market
Rangers starting pitcher Corey Kluber throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning on July 26, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Louis DeLuca
With spring training set to begin six weeks from Wednesday, Mets fans continue to wait for new owner Steve Cohen to open his huge wallet and sign some big-name free agents.
Cohen, who in his last extensive public comments asked Mets fans for patience, continues to monitor the glacially paced offseason market while amusing himself by smacking back at Twitter trolls.
Cohen’s latest salvo came on Tuesday, when he responded to a post by the official Twitter account of WFAN’s "Morning Show With Boomer and Gio."
"Gio claims he is going on a hunger strike until the Mets sign someone significant @StevenACohen2," the tweet read.
"Does that mean one cheeseburger instead of two," Cohen replied.
Hijinks aside, Cohen and his new front office under team president Sandy Alderson and general manager Jared Porter are continuing to monitor both the high and low ends of the free agent market.
An MLB.com report on Tuesday said the Mets will be one of about a dozen teams who will send a representative on Jan. 13 to watch former AL Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber throw at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Kluber, who won his Cy Young with Cleveland in 2014, started seven games for Cleveland in 2019 and threw exactly one inning for Texas in 2020 before suffering a shoulder tear. The 34-year-old righthander is a high-risk option for any team looking for a starter on the [relative] cheap.
The Yankees may also take a look at Kluber. Or they might not need to since the "Cressey" in "Cressey Sports Performance" is Eric Cressey, who is the Yankees’ director of health and performance and who is overseeing Kluber’s rehab. Also, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake has a long history with Kluber from their Cleveland days.
But Mets fans aren’t hitting refresh on Cohen’s Twitter feed to find out about Kluber. They want to know if the Great Neck billionaire is going to bring in big names such as George Springer, DJ LeMahieu or Trevor Bauer.
Cohen’s message, as it was when he did an Internet interview with Howie Rose two days before Christmas, is for Mets fans to chill out.
On Monday, Cohen responded to a Twitter user who asked if catcher James McCann was going to be the Mets’ biggest pickup of this unusual offseason.
"Don’t you think someone will take our money?," Cohen posted. "It just has to make sense."
In the meantime, the Mets are tidying up around the edges before pitchers and catchers report (pandemic permitting) to spring training on Feb. 17. On Tuesday, they announced Luis Rojas’ 2021 coaching staff. Most of the details were already known.
The new hires are bench coach Dave Jauss and first base coach Tony Tarasco. Returning coaches are Jeremy Hefner (pitching), Chili Davis (hitting), Jeremy Accardo (assistant pitching), Ricky Bones (bullpen), Gary DiSarcina (third base) and Tom Slater (assistant hitting). Brian Schneider, who was the quality control coach in 2020, will be the major league field coordinator/catching coach. Ricky Meinhold joins the staff as assistant pitching coach/minor league pitching coordinator. Meinhold was the Mets’ minor league pitching coordinator in 2020.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
