Steve Cohen Makes Bold Claim About 2026 Mets

Despite the roster turnover, Steve Cohen still has high expectations for the Mets this season.

Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets owner Steve Cohen on the field before the Mets home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the start of spring training now in full swing, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen gave his first public thoughts on the roster turnover that ensued this offseason.

During an exclusive interview with Mets radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose, Cohen made a firm statement on what he thinks this Mets team is capable of in 2026.

"I'm excited by this team," Cohen said. "It's different than the team we had last year, but I mean a lot of these players that we got are playoff tested, I expect this team to be a playoff team. So having players like this that have performed in those situations really gets me excited."

.@StevenACohen2 sits down with @HowieRose ahead of the 2026 season to discuss his excitement for the 2026 roster, Metropolitan Park, and so much more!

Full Interview 👉 https://t.co/FUfacibIaW pic.twitter.com/dQAbH065SG

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 13, 2026

Despite parting ways with franchise cornerstones this offseason in Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, and Jeff McNeil, New York was able to change the tone for an initially frustrated fanbase.

The Mets' first offseason addition was second baseman Marcus Semien in a deal that sent the aforementioned Nimmo to the Texas Rangers. They then signed veteran infielder Jorge Polanco to a two-year deal to play first base, and added both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to revamp their bullpen. After a bit of a dry spell, the Mets' offseason ramped back up again when they traded for outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox and signed infielder Bo Bichette to a three-year contract.

Read More: Could Freddy Peralta Be Poised for an Extension?

Perhaps the biggest offseason move they made, however, came after all of the other aforementioned moves. New York shipped off a pair of top prospects to acquire All-Star starting pitcher Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers, with the hopes of creating a lethal one-two punch at the top of the rotation along with rookie phenom Nolan McLean.

While these additions have certainly made the 2026 Mets a playoff team on paper, Cohen felt like many Met fans during the early stages of the offseason. He expressed a bit of sadness at the departures of Alonso, Díaz, McNeil and Nimmo, with whom he had developed strong relationships since buying the team nearly six years ago.

"I can totally understand how the fans felt when they're losing players that they developed relationships with...change is hard," Cohen said. "I felt it too, by the way. The players that left were the players that I started with in my ownership, day one."

But as many Mets fans were quickly reminded of in the ensuing weeks and months, the offseason does not end in December, which was made very clear to Cohen by president of baseball operations David Stearns.

"I get reminded over and over again by David [Stearns] that the offseason doesn't end in December and it can actually continue into February," Cohen said.

With this new-look roster, the Mets will hope for better fortunes in 2026, with their owner expressing confidence in the current group despite saying goodbye to some fan-favorites this offseason.

You can watch the entire Steve Cohen interview with Howie Rose by clicking here.

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