Move over George Steinbrenner, there is a new spending king of New York City. Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, is not afraid to flash his wallet to the entirety of MLB in the interest of his organization. After the prominent Wall Street figure bought the Mets for $2.4 billion from the Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz families, he has led the team in an entirely new spending direction.
It’s clear that Cohen has a fiery passion for baseball and the New York Mets. He continues to invest a considerable fraction of his estimated $14.8 billion net worth to the organization. The Mets led MLB in payroll for the third straight season in 2024, totaling $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over Cohen’s four years as owner — not including Juan Soto’s record-breaking contract. It’s even gone as far as a newly implemented “Cohen Tax” in MLB, which penalizes teams for spending above a certain threshold in the luxury tax.
Not only have the Mets become the first team to exceed $300 million in payroll under Cohen’s direction, but in the years since letting go of pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, their farm system has also grown significantly. The motivation comes from the hope that the Mets will win the world series in under five years. However, Cohen’s methods of success seem a little too ambitious, teetering on the edge of recklessness.
Don’t get me wrong, Cohen’s fruitful spending is everything that’s right with baseball. Not only has he paid an earth-shattering $765 million to Soto for his generational talents and also promised several improvements to Citi Field, but overall it invests in better players, better stadiums and better baseball. On the other hand, Cohen’s spending isn’t entirely focused on the product on the field, but rather building a “brand” for the Mets organization.
Currently, Cohen is pushing an $8 billion casino right next to the stadium in Flushing, N.Y. His proposal is nothing short of ambitious, pushing the idea of a “Metropolitan Park.” Through renovating the surrounding parking lots at Citi Field, the new casino would include, according to PR Newswire, a “new public park space, improved public transportation and climate infrastructure, live music, a Queens Food Hall and a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with bars, restaurants and a sportsbook.”
Aside from the potential distraction that could become Metropolitan Park, Cohen has also struggled to hold his tongue in the press. Most recently in the offseason, Cohen showed his true colors after meetings with Pete Alonso and his agent Scott Boras went awry.
To manage the generous wealth, Cohen hired David Stearns, current president of baseball operations, in September of 2023. Back in February, however, Stearns and Cohen faced some backlash from hardcore Mets fans after grueling contract negotiations with the city’s fan favorite.
When asked by reporters in a press conference about Alonso’s potential return, Cohen decided to get “brutally honest” with the fans about their meetings.
“Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” Cohen complained. He later continued, “As we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have, and that’s where we are.”
Cohen further stated that he was willing to move forward without Alonso if he was unwilling to comply with their offer. They later settled on a $54 million, two-year deal with Alonso.
Even though I am personally not a Mets fan, I couldn’t help but wince when I saw that quote. It may be honest, but it’s far from respectful. Even though players and coaches, especially in baseball, may feel more inclined to shamelessly express their true feelings, Cohen’s words are unbecoming of an owner. I mean, call me harsh, but Jeff Luhnow spoke better of his players after the Astros debacle in 2020.
Cohen’s enthusiastic spending and affluence are great for baseball. However, I fail to see consistency in the way he manages his spending. He’s willing to pour nearly $800 million into one player for 15 years, but is fine with pushing the fan favorite around in the papers. It’s not a problem now, but I’m interested to see where the organization will be a couple years down the road.
bkeatin1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @HagenSnellBB, X
