Steve Cohen on New York Mets: 'I Feel an Incredible Vibe Here'
Port St. Lucie - Mets owner Steve Cohen laid out the dough in the offseason to build a winner, and now he's relishing in the club he assembled in spring training.
"I feel an incredible vibe here," Cohen said at Clover Park on Monday. "I think this is the best vibe I’ve felt since I started being an owner. I’m excited, this is a good looking team."
Cohen spent close to $500 million on free agents this winter. Despite losing Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, the Mets went out and signed Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, among others, and re-signed Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz.
But while Cohen is pleased with the moves he made, he was also surprised by the high prices for players.
“I was a little surprised that the prices went up for players," Cohen said. "It’s a fluid situation, so we had some ideas of what we wanted to do.
"You never know how it’s going to play out so you need a plan A, plan B, plan C. But I’m really pleased with how it turned out. We had a lot of free agents and a lot to replace, and it really turned out well, so I’m really excited about this team."
After splurging in free agency, the Mets have the highest payroll in MLB history at $370 million.
When asked if it was World Series or bust for the Mets this year, Cohen wouldn't put that on his team.
"You know how hard it is to get into the World Series?" "As we saw last year. The only thing you can do is put yourself in the position where good things can happen.
"You have to make the playoffs, the team has to be healthy, rested and ready to go. If you keep putting yourself there, obviously one day we will get there. I’d love for it to be sooner than later, but I can’t control that."
Cohen, of course, set a three-to-five year goal of winning a World Series when he first purchased the Mets in late-2020. While Cohen joked that he wished he could take that comment back, he stressed the importance of setting high goals.
"I made a commitment to the fans. It wasn't a short-term commitment," Cohen said. "When I do something, I don't do it halfway."
Cohen acknowledged his strategy of spending in order to give the organization time to build out a farm system in order to create a sustainable winner.
"When I measure my success as an owner, obviously we want to win a World Series, but I’m also going to measure my success at building a farm system, so that we have sustainability year in and year out. That’s how you create something special."
Last season, Cohen's Mets won 101 games, but lost out on a division title late in the year and were eliminated in the Wild Card round. This year, it may not be World Series or bust, but it's evident that the Mets must take a step forward beyond last season's disappointing finish.
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