Opposing teams in baseball are taking notice of Steve Cohen and the changes he’s bringing to the Mets. We know the Mets now have the resources to spend and upgrade if they desire to make a trade or two. Believe me, teams are watching.

One executive of a rival NL East team said, “The Mets moved from the outhouse to the penthouse. Cohen said all the right things. It couldn’t have been scripted better. What resonated the most with me personally, was that he wanted to hire the best baseball people in the game to run the club.”

And that best person is Sandy Alderson. According to that executive, what stood out from what Cohen said was that he will stay out of the decisions made by Alderson. The baseball people will run the Mets. 

He made reference to Jeff Wilpon as previously being the major albatross for the Mets.

“Besides the Wilpons awful financial support for the Mets,” he said, “Jeff interfered to the point of being a failure.”

It’s simple. Hire the right baseball people and let them do the job. 

“I saw that with Peter Angolos when he took over the Orioles,” said another rival executive. “He paid the price in the early years, just ask Pat Gillick and Davey Johnson. Ownership is the biggest key to the success of a team and organization.”

He added, “ It includes the support of baseball operations, giving them autonomy. Also, providing the resources to allow a team to operate without their hands being tied. Watch, Sandy now sans the Wilpons.”

The Mets, when you talk to most baseball people, are committed to a more analytical approach.

“It is about good scouting and trading a player a year too soon, rather than a year too late, and getting value in return,” said another insider with ties to the NL East. “It revolves around the ability to navigate controllability and free agency, but only good scouting makes this system work.”

The Mets will be doing their part to retain a chain of scouts as other MLB clubs continue to cut back and eliminate scouts.

When it comes to free agency, we have an idea of the names on the Mets radar. We know about Trevor Bauer, George Springer, and possibly moving more to James McCann over J.T. Realmuto. The Mets now have the opportunity to be a big player in the free agent market, similar to their crosstown rival. 

When George Steinbrenner purchased the New York Yankees from CBS (amazingly for only 10 million dollars), the Boss opened his pocket book and was determined to win. Ironically, his ownership coincided with the birth of free agency, which had few rules at its inception. 

Steinbrenner took advantage of the situation, using and abusing the system to the Yankees’ benefit. Besides the Core Four, the Yankees bought their way to pennants and championships. They did a solid job with scouting, particularly internationally where again money ruled. 

But it was the players like Catfish Hunter, Roger Clemens, Reggie Jackson, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, among others, that put them over the top

The Mets are finally a legitimate big market club, who will be a monster to contend with in the game. They have the flexibility to make big additions, which can put them over the top in a division that could be the toughest in baseball.

The NL East will be a gauntlet this coming season. Atlanta made early moves to add starting pitching, understanding the value that brings towards winning a championship. The Nationals are just a year removed from winning the World Series.

The Mets hope to able to create the same kind of success in the coming years and it all starts with proper ownership.

Rich Mancuso: Twitterr@Ring786 Fcebook.com/Rich Mancuso