Steve Cohen
Role: Owner
Grade: B
2026 Review
It’s hard to fault an owner who spends more on his team than anyone else in baseball. And that’s exactly what Steve Cohen did, enabling the New York Mets to enter the 2026 season with the highest payroll in baseball.
But, as this year’s Tampa Bay Rays/Milwaukee Brewers World Series goes to show, money doesn’t always equal winning in sports. Questionable roster decisions, injuries, bad luck. and poor play can derail even the richest teams, and all of the above happened to Cohen’s Mets in 2026. While he invested heavily in his club, accountability starts at the top, and so the owner has to take at least some of the blame for the Mets’ disastrous season when it comes to report card time.
The Mets missed the playoffs in 2026 for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time in Cohen’s six years as Mets owner. The latest disappointment came after the front office revamped the core of the roster, letting free agents Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz walk and trading away Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil.
Time will tell whether the decision to let, specifically, Alonso walk, though the Mets sorely missed his offensive production in year one. Cohen brightened the spotlight on that choice when he told Alonso “this is your home…appreciate you, Pete,” after the former Met poetically hit his 300th career home run at Citi Field, as a Baltimore Oriole.
But one year after signing Juan Soto to a record contract, Cohen did still open up his checkbook to replace Alonso and the other departed players. He gave president of baseball operations David Stearns the resources to sign Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams and to trade for Freddy Peralta and Luis Robert, Jr. The intent to field a winning team was certainly there, but just about every one of these players severely underperformed in their first year in Flushing.
Some might call that bad luck, but Cohen himself questioned the strategy of fielding a team with so many new faces.
“There was too much risk when you think about all the changes that were made,” he said after the season. “Whenever there are significant changes, sometimes, it takes a while to integrate. Those are the things that I’m looking at and where we could be better.”
That didn’t stop Cohen’s organization from making another major change during the season: firing manager Carlos Mendoza. Cohen described it as a ,“mercy shot,” putting Mendoza out of his misery in the midst of a miserable season given an extension was not in the plans. The Mets played much better under interim manager Andy Green, who eventually signed a three-year contract to stay in the role, much to Cohen’s delight.
“Andy has connected with and pushed our players to perform, despite the disappointment of the season. Over the last several months he has brought discipline, accountability and positivity to the clubhouse, attributes we were seeking in our next manager.”
2027 Preview
In the dog days of July, Cohen threw some cold water on hopes for a full rebound in 2027, due to financial inflexibility and a stagnant farm system.
“We’ll have to figure it out. 2027 looks tougher. Our budget is – depending on who opts in and who opts out, we could be close to $300 million already. It doesn’t allow us a lot of flexibility. Do we see other players coming from the farm system to sort of buttress what we already have? Maybe, maybe not.”
But by August, Cohen was already singing a much more hopeful tune. The Mets prospect haul during the trade deadline and performances of rookies Carson Benge, Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing, and Zac Thornton provide some optimism for next year. If the veterans acquired last offseason can return to their normal selves in their second year in New York, the Mets should have a much better 2027.
“We’ve had new players, and they’ve adjusted to New York. And you can imagine them feeling much more comfortable next year. So I think there’s a lot to look forward to here. I see the foundation of something that I think we can get behind. But we’ll see how it goes, right? But I’m getting more optimistic. I like what I see. And hopefully it continues.”
