“That’s why they brought him [David Stearns] here, I’m telling you. [Steve] Cohen lost so much money and has to pay $100 million in luxury tax, and this guy is here to run the team like the Brewers.”
– WFAN (NY) Radio host and self-proclaimed huge Mets fan Joe Benigno on the air.
A large and growing portion of the Mets’ fan base will agree wholeheartedly with this quote. While the Los Angeles Dodgers seemingly scoop up every desirable free agent, the Mets are scouring the waiver wire. While the New York Yankees swing a major trade for Juan Soto, the Mets sign Harrison Bader. The Mets sign Joey Wendle, non-tendering Luis Guillorme, who signs with the Atlanta Braves – where he will presumably hit .320, with 25 homers to go along with his Gold Glove caliber defense. Of course, he will: Stearns let him walk. Cohen is the richest owner in all of American sports; why the hell isn’t he spending any money on this team? This is what you hear on the call-in shows, this is what you read on social media, the monolith formerly known as “MetsTwitter.” If you’re paying attention, you know there is more here than meets the eye.
This past October, before the champagne was even dry on the carpet of the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse, David Stearns took over as President of Baseball Operations for the Mets, the team for which he grew up rooting. He was fresh off a sustained run of success in the same position with the Milwaukee Brewers and was the object of owner Steve Cohen’s desire for the role, basically since Cohen bought the team in 2020. He garnered a reputation for unearthing diamonds in the rough, finding hidden value in the best Billy Beane tradition. There’s no way of knowing what lies ahead in 2024, of course, but if you examine the moves made so far, it looks like Stearns is out to burnish that reputation. While the names aren’t flashy, there is more method than madness here. Wendle is third base insurance in case Brett Baty never lives up to his potential. Despite an injury-filled and largely ineffective 2023, Bader is a legitimate centerfielder, which allows the incumbent, Brandon Nimmo, to slide over to left, a position for which he is better suited. He signed pitchers Luis Severino and Sean Manaea, banking on two other health rebounds. And I haven’t even mentioned the canny trade Stearns made with his former employers, sending minor league pitcher Coleman Crow to Milwaukee for pitcher Adrian Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor. So, there is upside here, 2024 will have to play out before anybody can see it.
The fans are angry right now, yes. They expected Cohen to come in, full of Steinbrennerian swagger and immediately play checkbook baseball – the ultimate Rotisserie team right there on the Citi Field turf, an All-Star at every position. He tried that and it got him a choke job after leading the NL East for most of 2021, a 101-win season in 2022 with a first round playoff exit and a 77-win debacle in 2023, with that onerous luxury tax penalty to boot. Cohen didn’t get to be the richest owner in all of American sports by consistently throwing good money after bad. You have to be a pretty smart guy – or have some pretty rich parents – to amass the kind of fortune Cohen posesses. Cohen’s parents were a dress manufacturer and a piano teacher, just for the record. If you use your calm, non-fanboy head, you’d see a backtracking in 2024 is the smart play.
Stearns and Cohen now have to walk the same fine line Frank Cashen had to walk, back in the early- ‘80s: building a sustainable system, while still trying to compete in the New York cauldron of angry fans and antagonistic press, while also working with the handicap of not being the Yankees. It finally bore fruit in 1984 and kept the team at the forefront of the League for seven years – and we all know that if the same playoff rules had been in place back then, yadda-yadda-yadda. Those are the teams Cohen paid attention to, the teams that introduced Stearns to baseball. Is it any wonder they’re trying to recapture that spirit?
Look, for all the upside, 2024 is going to be a year of retrenchment, no matter how you slice it. Cohen and Stearns have said as much and Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander both spilled the beans on it while headed out the door to the two Texas teams. If there is a playoff spot in the offing this year, that’s gravy. We fans would do well to avoid giving ourselves a stroke in the meantime. Instead, we should take heed of the timeless wisdom of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need.
Nobody tell that radio host that even without Stearns making any major moves, Cohen is still going to have a $100 million tax bill for this season.
exactly Brian. That fact alone says without question the team is not in balance. Having an extraordinary payroll and yet chasing the final wild card with the hope of sneaking in with 84 wins. The problem with this team is substantive and deep. The rot of the Wilpon era cannot be overturned with only money, as Cohen discovered.
This is literally a disgrace. I haven’t been this discouraged in a long time. In fact, as much as any time with the Wilson’s. I enjoy games with my son and we have made it a tradition as our time together. I am not spending a cent for this team that they are putting on the field for 2024. I admit we struck out with the big contracts. I defended all the Steve Cohan moves for basically buying a minor system. I defended it crazy. It was invented and smart. Something no one has ever tried. Yamamoto courtship was exciting with Steve Cohan. He gave it his all but Yamamoto placed us to get his price from the Dodgers. I might even give a pass on these low tier pitchers that are only serviceable. However, not getting a bat for the fans is inexcusable. I know if only be a JD Martinez or a Justin Turner. This is at least would make fans hope and go to games. It fit perfect for what their plan is for 2024. We hope to get that one last decent year out of them, a bat in middle of lineup and not taking a contract like Soto on before we go for it in 2025. This current lineup has no flavor of a wild card team. Give us hope, give us a reason to watch with views of a leadership plan and knowing if all falls right, we can be fighting for a playoff spot. I am trying to be open/minded. We have such a bad taste of last year. Please, field us a team with hope with accomplishing your 2025 vision. This current lineup is brutal. Get us that DH bat. I couldn’t be more discouraged over a Mets season to start the year. I beg of you Steve Cohan.
I think that is stone cold reality.
Ive said before, and I’ll say it again: This team is wildly imbalanced with super expensive stars and budding could be’s. There are not enough sure bets with this distribution. If you look at the Dodgers as one successful model, you can see almost every time theres a hole, someone(s) from below can rise to the occasion. That frees up the possibility of superstar acquisitions going into a good team with the chance to make them great; it also allows the possibility to bring people up *and* have people to trade. Another model is the Braves, who built a model farm system, got major winners player after played, signed them long term with little hesitancy, and only need a pop of flash with a couple high end free agents. It also means they have plenty of talent to trade.
The Mets construction has been utter bereft of a plan, chasing the current season with panic, or what Ive called “rebuilding for it”. It led to a bottom tier pipeline and aging FAs that didnt have enough quality players around them. And that “panic to be a contender this minute” is a crappy approach as it means there is little to know what comes next, except for total imbalance.
Enter Cohen. Just because he has billions (maybe 20) doesnt mean every year is a candy store for top dollar FAs, He would need to essentially have no interest in money except to feed the team perpetually. Thats dumb. In fact, the smart play is to generate a strong pipeline, and bring in start that are opportunistic, like say the filling the black hole at 3B. The main thing is that the majority of players need to have controllable contracts for some time for above average kids and then bring in stars at their peak so that the team is in sync with production. That takes time. And there is no way to change that.
Chris, you bring to mind an interview with Corey Seagar many years ago. He was asked how the players stay motivated on the Dodgers and he said that the players know that there’s a good player behind each of them that wants their job.
Thats exactly right Gus. Theres no threat to bench lousy play for the main starters, beciase its a little league team behind them.
not too long ago, the Athletic ran an article showing the Mets top 5 players were in family with the top teams, but the bottom 5 players were among the worst in the MLB. No fear of being replaced.
Oh Mr. Mayor,
I am thankful like most Met fans that Cohen has replaced the Wilpons as owner. However, though, we are coming to the time, if not already there, that blaming the Wilpons is becoming more of an excuse. Sure, the system was on the weaker side, but what did Uncle Steve do in year 1 – trade PCA for 2 months of Baez with deGrom’s arm hanging off. That’s gas to the fire. Then he went all in with huge multiyear deals for the big name geriatrics, with the same imbalanced organization and system without upper level strength. As a fan I was happy, but anyone with any brains knows, the risks should be considered with the rewards prior to making a decision. If it went poorly, like it did, 2024-5 would be a big problem. Personally, I hold the Wilpons about 2% accountable for this offseason. Cohen owns 98%. The huge losses and penalties last year, and the penalties and short arms this winter are on Uncle Steve. He owns the dead money and tax on it, not the Wilpons. Yeah, some of that is the cost for 2 prospects, but with tax, what did he pay for those guys…$30 million, $40 million, plus loss of draft pick and international money? That’s another long shot bet by Mr. Cohen, another one that gets him many pats on the back. Mr. Benigno radio host isn’t wrong here…there are tremendous parallels this offseason to Alderson’s first year…the only difference is that the Wilpons lost hundreds of millions courtesy of Madoff and Cohen has lost hundreds of millions courtesy of himself. This is not an anti-Cohen post, it is just an attempt at being objective. Stearns and Cohen themselves said they would field a competitive product, and then sign a bunch of bargain bin guys. OK, I get it. Let the kids get ABs I get that too. But, pitching, that we are dearly lacking. I’m not asking for Snell or Montgomery and the commitment that would take. But, what about a guy like Jordan Hicks? This dude has electric stuff, has potential as a reliever or a starter, and signed for $44 million/4 years. He is 27. Yeah, he’s no sure thing, but they couldn’t find a little loose change to get a 27 year old for 4 years? He’s 28 in 2025 and 29 in 2026, What about the pitching lab? Not being in on him makes me very very skeptical that they are doing anything besides stopping the financial bleeding in 2024, and being less than forthright with the customers.
Im not indifferent to that argument. The fact is the situation of today was coming under any circumstance. Cohens choice to go for a WS was something he wanted to try, and if our 101 win season led to that, no one could care less. But the fact is he tried, and failed, to summit Mt Everest. He brought in Verlander fresh off a CY for a second attempt, then reality caught up with the team last year. Now he faces the harsh reality of where the team has been forever. At least the change in perspective of dishing out bloated, but very short term, contracts has made the chance of turning the ship around plausible.
The culture of the team long precedes Cohen’s purchase. It will take some time and a lot of effort and money to make happen.
T.J. I was all with you until that last sentence. They’re not stopping the financial bleeding this year. It’s going to be another $300 million payroll and another $100 million luxury tax bill.
I would have supported a run at better pitching options and one big bat
I would have supported trying to get under the draft-pick penalty, even if it meant trading Alonso and risking a 69-win season
But this idea of being above the highest luxury tax threshold with an outside shot of 84 wins just seems like the worst of all worlds to me.
What I meant by the Hicks comment is that a guy like him, or maybe just him, instead of a patch job one year flier on Severino or Manaea would have made more sense with selling 25-26 as the target without increasing the 2024 losses. Control of Hicks age 28-31 seasons with Megill in the rotation would be better IMHO.
FWIW, the Hicks comment was fine. I was referring to this:
“makes me very very skeptical that they are doing anything besides stopping the financial bleeding in 2024, and being less than forthright with the customers.”
They’re simply not stopping the financial bleeding this year. Their payroll is going to be huge and they’re going to pay 110% of whatever amount they’re over $237 million
TJ, I can’t disagree with too much, but I do want to answer. The team doesn’t lose any international money by being over the fourth tier unless they sign a QO free agent. So, being over it this year, next year, how do they sign Fried, Burnes, or Soto?
Also, Hicks signed specifically to be a starting pitcher with the Giants. He wants to start and everyone wanted him to relieve. I can understand the young man wanting better, like Seth Lugo did to prove himself, but why take a four year contract and lose your prime years to “merely” $11MM a year if you believe in yourself? He does have incentives based on innings pitched and other stuff, but, it sounds like he settled just to be a starter.
Off a 101 win season and a playoff appearance, Cohen did his best to spend and bring us a winner. Little did he know how fickle players can be to performing well. Marte was a big piece we were missing, McNeil underperformed until the last six weeks, the baby Mets who we hoped for some solid play out of, let us down, and the pen was inadequate and never full made up for the loss of Diaz. Given all that, another 10 wins and we would’ve made a playoff spot. If Baty can be adequate at 3B and Vientos handle half of the DH with the bat we know he has, and Marte is 75% and not 20% of the player he we was, then our offense will be strong and we would have saved a lot of money over overpaying to fill those spots. As for our starting pitching, lots of fingers crossed in that area, but with all the potential pen pieces they brought in, and the return of Diaz, this team should be fun to watch this season. It remains to be seen whether a third place finish in the division gets them anywhere.
Sounds pretty anti-Cohen to me.
My comment was not directed to what NYM6986 wrote. My laptop betrayed me and opened a reply box in a different place.
The problem Mets fans are having is believing that Cohen had brought us to the level of the Dodgers in 2022 with that 101-win season. They are so hungry for a consistent winner that they cannot wait for someone to “say grace” before eating. Fans wanted to think 2023 was an aberration and that Cohen would have us back to a 100-win season in 2024. But, he realized that the team wasn’t close to being a consistent hundred-game winner. He had always said that to be a consistent winner required building a strong farm system and then integrating top prospects into the team. He saw that he had four top prospects and that he needed to bring them up in 2024. That is what he has done. He and Stearns also realized that it takes rookies a season or two to make the adjustment from AAA to MLB. Introducing so many kids inevitably meant that the team would be inconsistent in 2024. He did, however, try to sign the best pitcher available. He also tried to sign a couple of the other better pitchers but they preferred to pitch elsewhere. So rather than sign lesser pitchers for inflated prices and knowing the kids would be inconsistent, he’s clearly decided to wait until next year’s crop of top pitchers. Besides, he’ll also know better what his pitching prospects are likely to produce. This offseason is only a disappointment to those who were seduced by 2022. With Stearns advising him, the Mets are on a sustainable trajectory to long-term success.
$ 50 million for Scherzer, Verlander and McCann. $ 19.5 million for Marte. Right there is $ 70 million for nothing.
$ 20 million for Nimmo, while Matt Olson makes $ 22 million. $ 17.5 for Diaz. Ronald Acuna a 40 HR 70 SB superstar is making $ 17 million. Ozzie Albies is making $ 7 million.
To me, it is obvious. We overpaid for guys who to me are overvalued. The Braves did it right. Extending their studs for team friendly deals. That’s what we should do once we sort out who rises to the top out if Drew Gilbert, Luis Angel Acuna, Jett Williams, etc…
Look at the Dodgers. They have Betts and Freeman and now Ohtani and Yamamoto. Plus they get Buehler back and trade Pepiot for Glassnow.
Yes, my friends, we have made mistakes. It felt good when it happened. But, we learned a really hard lesson. The Braves and Dodgers figured it out before we did. We need to copy them. And, it needs to be for long term sustainable growth and competitiveness. Throw Tampa Bay in there as well for being smart. So what, we have to wait for two or maybe three years to be really competitive. We have waited for 37 years, so let’s lick our wounds and get it right.
Wouldn’t it be awesome to keep Montes de Oca and have him harness his control. There is our closer or terrific setup man. Yeah, I remember when when we traded our last fireballs Nolan Ryan and how did that work out.
Atlanta let beloved Brave Freddy Freeman leave and they smartly pivoted to trading prospect capital for Matt Olson.
Sorry, I say screw it, trade Alonso and let’s come up with a better plan. In the last year we made two good moves, which were actually not moves. We let deGrom walk and thank goodness, we got out of the Correa deal. Can you imagine if we signed both of them. We would be sunk.
McNeill for $ 10 million or Ozzie Albies for $ 7 million. McNeill is overrated. A slap hitter. Should have traded him before we extended him.
So, I am not going to knock Cohen. For once I am trying to look further than one season and yes I wanted shiny objects.
Terrible article. The author must work for the Mets! 🙂 The team is bad.