Steve Cohen isn't rushing changes, but that doesn't mean they aren't coming
Mets owner Steve Cohen addresses the media before a game against the Brewers at Citi Field on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Steve Cohen doesn’t regret spending a record $377 million on these disappointing Mets. But when it comes to their “terrible” first-half performance, baseball’s richest owner is saving the receipts.
Don’t mistake patience for inaction on Cohen’s part. I had my doubts when the Mets owner began Wednesday’s much-anticipated news conference at Citi Field by expressing his general frustration with the team’s ineptitude.
Just venting into the dozen or so TV cameras, in front of a standing-room-only media crowd, didn’t figure to be a productive use of anyone’s time, and especially a hedge-fund guy worth roughly $17 billion (Cohen waited to speak until after the market closed at 4 p.m.).
But Cohen didn’t wallow in talk-radio sound bites. For those paying attention, there were the not-so-faint outlines for a blueprint out of this mess, spoken in casual tones while seated at what looked like a Mets logo cocktail table.
While Cohen “absolutely” guaranteed that GM Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter would finish out the season in their respective roles (no surprise there) he brought up -- unsolicited -- his renewed efforts to hire a president of baseball operations.
Cohen insisted that’s been his plan since Day One, and we do recall Sandy Alderson -- then the Mets president -- mentioning it even after Eppler was hired following the 2021 season. But last year’s 101-win season definitely cooled that pursuit, and for Cohen to publicly rekindle the discussion Wednesday was no accident.
“Billy knows,” Cohen said. “I’ve had that conversation with him. He’s supportive. My view is that it’s a very complex job. It’s a lot on one person.”
To add more context, Cohen steered us all down this road when asked about his “confidence level” in the current management group. He didn’t have to go there. But in crossing that line, it opens the door to a countless number of organizational changes, if Cohen proceeds with his plan at the end of this season.
Cohen made a number of not-so-veiled references to what we could reasonably assume was David Stearns, the former president of baseball ops for the Brewers who just happens to be under contract through October. Should Stearns or someone else take over, that person ostensibly would be granted the power to reshape the front office and choose their own manager.
“In my business, there are ways to hire people that are a lot easier than it is in baseball following the rules,” Cohen said. “The type of person I want doesn’t grow on trees ... At some point, someone’s going to become available.”
We got the hint (wink, wink). And if the Mets continue on this downward trajectory, it’s a safe bet Cohen is going to make good on that pledge once the dust clears from this Flushing wreckage. But the owner also has no intention of being an absentee landlord until then, and Cohen made it sound like everything is on the table as the Aug. 1 trade deadline draws closer.
Maybe Cohen isn’t ready to bail on this nearly $400 million investment just yet, despite the Mets facing a 16-game deficit in the NL East and trailing the third wild-card spot by 8 1/2 games (behind five teams). But he’s not afraid to take a hard look at the post-deadline future, either, and didn’t rule out making Max Scherzer or Justin Verlander available when asked specifically about his pair of $43 million co-aces, other than saying he hasn’t “gotten that far yet.”
As for the rest of his high-priced clubhouse, Cohen volunteered to eat plenty of salary if it meant bringing back more younger talent in return at the deadline. That’s no minor detail coming off the frugal Wilpon Era, and not a bad consolation prize to a failed playoff mission. Cohen’s billions will always be his best competitive advantage, along with his brazen fearlessness to weaponize it.
“I already consider the money spent,” Cohen said. “So in that unfortunate circumstance, if I can find ways to improve our farm system, and that’s the path we take, I’m willing to do it.”
Cohen didn’t have to call his own news conference before Wednesday’s game. The majority of owners, including the New York market, would rather fly coach -- in a middle seat -- than agree to be grilled by the media. But Cohen sat there and took unscripted questions for 25 minutes, trying to provide explanations and solutions for a train wreck that he personally financed. However this season turns out, and it’s rapidly accelerating towards being a costly disaster, Cohen isn’t ducking the blame.
“The reality is the reality,” Cohen said. “Players know it. Management knows it. I know it ... You can make a case things are about to turn, but who knows? I think there’s reason to be hopeful, but it’s on the players.”
That’s all Cohen could really say Wednesday. Here in late June, words will have to suffice for now. But the owner also made clear that actions won’t be too far behind.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
