KANSAS CITY, Mo. ā Although the New York Mets are planning for 2025 and beyond, owner Steve Cohen doesn't want to get āembarrassedā next season.
Cohen met with players, coaches and reporters Wednesday before the struggling Mets played in Kansas City, one day after the team capped a stunning selloff of veteran players leading up to baseball's trade deadline.
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After acquiring a bevy of minor league prospects in return, New York is clearly focused on the future. Cohen, however, said he still thinks the Mets will be āhighly competitiveā in 2024.
āI think the expectations were really high this year and my guess is next year theyāll be a lot lower," he explained. "I canāt speak to whatās going to happen in the offseason. Iām opportunistic. I donāt want to roll a team out that weāre going to be embarrassed about. But, we also know that spending a fortune doesnāt guarantee a trip to the playoffs. I think weāve got to look and see what we need. Obviously we need starting pitching, and thatās the key thing.ā
Cohen discussed the decision to trade star pitchers Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and others.
āWhen you look at the probabilities,ā he said, āwhat we were at, 15% (to make the postseason)? And other teams were getting better, so you have to take the odds down from that. So, if youāre going to have a 12% chance of just getting into the playoffs, those are pretty crummy odds. Iāve said before ā hope is not a strategy. I wanted sustainability.ā
The opportunity for a solid return in trades was enticing.
āWe thought we got a great return for the people we ended up trading,ā he said. āWe werenāt sure that was going to happen. We werenāt just going to do deals for the sake of doing deals. I would have kept the players if it turned out it was going to be a mediocre return. Itās a moment in time when other clubs were thinking very short term and I was thinking more intermediate, long term. And so, I was able to take advantage of that.ā
Cohen said heād spoken with both Verlander and Scherzer, and related part of a conversation with Scherzer that helped clarify the difference in immediate visions between the owner and players.
āYouāve got to remember, Max and Justin, theyāre at a different point in their career,ā he said. āMax asked me straight: āAre you going to be all-in at free agency next year?ā And I couldnāt give him that promise. I couldnāt give him that assurance, and he wants to win now. If he felt like our odds were smaller than he originally thought, then he made his decision, and Justin did, too. And I respect that. Theyāre good guys and theyāre at a different point in their career.ā
The 39-year-old Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to accept a deal to Texas that was announced Sunday. The 40-year-old Verlander, like Scherzer a three-time Cy Young Award winner, accepted a trade back to Houston on Tuesday.
A lack of consistency on the field and a shortened timeframe to turn around the season played into the Mets' decision to become big sellers at the deadline.
āWe have 58 games left,ā Cohen said. āWe have to win two-thirds of our games. Weāve shown no consistency. It would really have to take a stretch to think something would change. With 58 games, things would have to change. I saw no indication that things were changing.ā
Cohen would not address specific personnel decisions. All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso can become a free agent after the 2024 season.
āWe love Pete as a Met,ā Cohen said. āHeās an integral part of the Mets. Heās still with us for another year. We hope we work things out.ā
Cohen believes manager Buck Showalter isnāt to blame for the teamās disappointing results this year.
āI donāt put it on Buck,ā he said. āI put it on the players. I think weāre hitting in some bad luck. Itās kind of unfair to put it on the manager.ā
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB