Higher than the Empire State Building: Steve Cohen raises fans’ expectations again

You will forgive the Mets fan if they seem bewildered. We have been trained – by outside forces, inept ownership/management, historic tomfoolery, etc. – to hope for the best, and expect the worst. The double-edged sword called “winning the winter” has backfired far too often for this franchise and longtime fans can never feel comfortable until or unless a postseason berth is secured. And even then, sometimes…

But I won’t bring up the name “Trent Grisham.” I promise.

This year is different. Owner Steve Cohen wears his Mets fandom on his sleeve, that’s for sure. We are in year three of his five-year mission to boldly go where no team has gone before. At least payroll-wise, anyway. He has vowed to bring a championship to Queens and has shown that money really is no object. This winter, so far, he has promised – in AAV terms for 2023 — $121.65 million in new contracts for six free agents, two of whom were Mets in 2022. That’s on top of the money to be paid to established stars this year. When owners without Cohen’s financial wherewithal imposed a fourth tier of luxury taxes named in his honor, he cheerfully blew through that threshold, blowing a Jesse Winker-style kiss as he passed it by. The Mets will be taxed $.90 on every dollar over that $290 million “Steve Cohen Tax,” so after this past week’s activities, he will be obligated to shell out somewhere in the $420-to-$430 million range. And he may not be done, as the airwaves are rife with talk of adding a right-handed DH and some more bullpen help. It’s enough to make your head spin.

In any case, with the announcement of the signing of Japanese star hurler Kodai Senga late on a Saturday night, the team on the field now looks at least as formidable as last year’s 101-win-worthy troupe. No, we won’t get to watch Jacob deGrom anymore and that fueled a sense of loss and a slight trace of bitterness among the fan base – more on that in a bit — but reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander eased that sting quite nicely. Lose Taijuan Walker to Philadelphia? Plug in Jose Quintana. Fans clamoring for the returns of Bandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz? “You got it,” says owner Uncle Steve. One more arm? Send out for Senga. Adding David Robertson to the bullpen is the cherry atop this free agent sundae. In the hyper-competitive NL East, it seems like it’s taken that much just to keep up with the NL East Champion Atlanta Braves and the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies. If they can add that thumping righty DH and supplement the bullpen further, the Mets might have that little something extra to get past those two obstacles.

In a way, the Texas Rangers’ luring away of deGrom might have had something to do with all this activity. On the eve of the Winter Meetings, it was leaked that deGrom was signing with Texas. On Monday, Verlander was locked in in Queens. But it was the press conference in Arlington, I think… deGrom spoke of the Rangers’ “vision and commitment to winning a World Series.” Odd, considering the Rangers play in the roughest division in the sport and even with deGrom will have a difficult time finishing higher than third. Also odd, because he made it sound like Texas had this glorious “vision,” while the Mets don’t – despite his own contributions to a 101-win playoff team. Anyway, it was after all that noise that Cohen kicked things into high gear, rapidly corralling Quintana, Nimmo, Robertson and Senga. Did deGrom puncture Cohen’s ego? Maybe a little bit, and that will be to the benefit of Mets fans everywhere.

Now, to temper things a bit – and as stated above – this doesn’t guarantee a thing. Those of us of a certain vintage will remember the early ‘90s, the era of “The Worst Team Money Can Buy.” The difference here is that the management level just blow Cohen doesn’t seem to be as short-sighted as that crew of jokers. GM Billy Eppler appears to be looking out ahead, rather than trying to fight the previous war and with Cohen’s backing can achieve a far greater measure of success than his predecessors. For one thing, he doesn’t have to deal with Wilponian whims: after all, Steve Cohen is a Mets fan at heart, and as has become evident, he will do whatever it takes to bring home the trophy.

This year is different.