Steve Cohen Is Annoyed — And the Mets Should Be Too
Steve Cohen says he’s annoyed with the Mets’ lack of postseason success. After $300M payrolls, frustration in Queens is reaching a boiling point.
Steve Cohen isn’t hiding it anymore.
The New York Mets owner, now entering his sixth season in charge, said it plainly: he’s annoyed. Not slightly disappointed. Not cautiously optimistic. Annoyed.
And honestly? He should be.
When Cohen bought the Mets before the 2021 season, he didn’t come in quietly. He didn’t promise patience. He didn’t preach “trust the process.” He basically put a five-year clock on himself and said if he didn’t win a World Series by then, he’d be disappointed.
Five years are up.
No parade.
Two playoff appearances. One Wild Card exit. One near-miss in 2024. And a 2025 collapse that wiped out whatever momentum this thing was supposed to have.
For a franchise spending north of $300 million annually, that’s not just frustrating — it’s embarrassing.
“I’m absolutely annoyed,” Cohen admitted to reporters.
Good.
If the owner writing $364 million in payroll checks isn’t annoyed, that’s a bigger problem.
Money Isn’t the Problem — Results Are
Let’s get this straight: Cohen has done his part financially.
The Mets are not a small-market team pretending to compete. They are spending at Dodgers-level territory. Cohen even acknowledged that Los Angeles is “formidable,” while casually reminding everyone he can spend too.
And he has.
This offseason alone brought in Bo Bichette. Freddy Peralta. Jorge Polanco. Devin Williams. Marcus Semien. Luis Robert Jr. That’s not tinkering around the edges. That’s a full roster reset.
Meanwhile, franchise staples like Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil are gone.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: throwing money at the problem hasn’t made it sustainable yet.
Cohen originally preached building a long-term winner — a Dodgers-style machine. Instead, the Mets have been volatile. Up one year. Down the next. Competitive, then chaotic.
A 0-70 record when trailing after eight innings last season? That’s not just randomness. That’s a team without late-game resilience.
Cohen says “table stakes” is making the playoffs.
For this payroll? Table stakes should be October baseball with home-field advantage.
The Pressure Is Real Now
The honeymoon phase of ownership is over.
Cohen can talk about being more “seasoned.” He can say he’s not picking the players. He can defer to David Stearns and the baseball operations department.
But here’s the reality: when you buy a franchise for $2.4 billion and position yourself as the aggressive owner willing to outspend anyone, expectations skyrocket.
This isn’t about making the Wild Card anymore.
It’s about legitimacy.
The Dodgers don’t just spend. They win. Repeatedly. They’ve built a culture where postseason appearances are routine.
The Mets? They’re still chasing consistency.
Cohen said the idea is to “keep putting yourself in that position year in, year out, which we haven’t done.”
That’s the key line.
Because at some point, frustration has to turn into accountability. If 2026 ends without a playoff berth — especially after another massive payroll spike — the heat won’t just fall on the roster.
It’ll hit the front office.
It’ll hit the dugout.
And eventually, it circles back to ownership.
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Annoyed Is a Start — But It’s Not Enough
Mets fans don’t need another winter headline about spending. They don’t need another spring speech about competitiveness.
They need October baseball that lasts.
Cohen's annoyance is a good sign. It means he feels the failure. It means he understands the expectations. It means he’s not pretending everything is fine because the balance sheet looks strong.
But in New York, annoyance doesn’t buy patience.
Winning does.
And if this version of the Mets doesn’t deliver, Cohen’s frustration is going to turn into something much louder than a spring training quote.
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