Francisco Lindor Responds to Steve Cohen's Mets Captain Decision

The New York Mets will not have a captain in 2026.

In fact, owner Steve Cohen went as far as to say that the Mets will never have a captain for as long as he is in charge of the club. This announcement came in the wake of a tumultuous 2025 season that fell apart on the field and in the clubhouse, with reports suggesting a rift between certain key members of the team.

A common rumor suggested that at the center of the divide was two longtime Mets who had each become vocal leaders for the team, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo. When talk began to swirl that Lindor would be made captain, some speculate that it upset Nimmo, who felt he deserved recognition for his longstanding presence and impact within the organization.

While it's hard to know what transpired in last year's locker room, David Stearns' decision to trade Nimmo away to begin the offseason seemed to verify the chemistry concerns in some ways. It also left many wondering if the Mets' next move would be to finally name Lindor captain, but Cohen's comments certainly put this discussion to rest.

“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain,” Cohen told the media at Clover Park on February 16th. “That was my decision. My view is the locker room is unique and let the locker room sort it out year in, year out.”

"As long as I'm owning the team, there will never be a team captain. That was my decision. My view is, the locker room is unique and let the locker room sort it out year-in, year-out."

- Steve Cohen pic.twitter.com/ELWZXGQ88f
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 16, 2026

The announcement was out of the blue, but definitive and well supported enough for many Mets fans to get behind the decision to let leaders emerge naturally rather than having it decided by non-players. However, it was unclear how Lindor, who is now the club's longest tenured player, would react to Cohen's declaration.

On Thursday, he addressed it directly, saying “I respect it. This is definitely a Steve, front-office type decision. I respect it. At the end of the day … being named captain or not, I’m still going to act the same. This is not something that’s going to make me somebody different. So, I respect it.”

"I respect it."

Francisco Lindor responds to Steve Cohen's comments that the Mets will never have a captain under his watch.

New story:https://t.co/ve5YdGIDAx
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 19, 2026

Lindor, who is present in St. Lucie despite undergoing surgery to repair a broken hamate, also expressed a level of relief that Cohen's comment will shut down the noise and distraction caused by captain debates.

“I’m glad he put everything to bed, so that way we can stop talking about this and move on,” he added. “It’s just one of those where it’s like, I’m going to focus on baseball. I feel like we’ve got leaders [without] captains and all that stuff. The clubhouse is the clubhouse. Let’s just play baseball, and let’s focus on winning.”

Francisco Lindor. — Feb 17, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Francisco Lindor (12) speaks to bench coach Kai Correa (50) during spring training at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

New York has been without a captain since 2018, when David Wright retired after holding the title since 2013. Before him, the Mets had just three captains: Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and John Franco. In his presser on Monday, Cohen pointed out that it is actually quite uncommon for baseball teams to name a captain.

“Having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often,” he said. “It’s actually unusual. Whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things. I look at things differently.”

Had he been made captain, Lindor would have been just the third in Major League Baseball today, with Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Salvador Perez of the Royals the only two official captains. As Lindor pointed out, leaders lead no matter what and his veteran presence and vocal leadership on the team will exist regardless of the title.

In some ways, the decision will take some pressure off of Lindor and the clubhouse in general and allow players to gravitate toward many different players who offer leadership abilities. This offseason, Stearns brought in veterans Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco, who should also be expected to take on a role of authority within the team. But of course, Lindor will almost certainly act as the unofficial captain of the Mets next year and for years after as they look to form a more cohesive unit than last season.

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