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New York Mets owner Steve Cohen — the man with the largest MLB team payroll ever — has hinted he’ll dismantle at least part of his record-setting roster at the upcoming Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Despite carrying a player outlay of $344 million, the Mets have floundered all season, sitting seven games below .500 and well out of a playoff spot entering Wednesday’s home game against Milwaukee. In a pregame press conference carried live on MLB.com, Twitter, and YouTube, Cohen called this season “terrible” and said large-scale roster changes could be forthcoming.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating,” Cohen said. “If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. It’s on the players.”
The Mets’ options could be limited, however, as six of the team’s seven highest-paid players have various forms of no-trade protection.
Cohen ruled out an immediate, full-scale house-cleaning and said manager Buck Showalter and GM Billy Eppler will remain in their jobs through at least this season. “Everybody wants me to fire this person, fire that person, but I don’t see that as a way to operate,” Cohen said. “If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be impulsive.”
The Mets are still looking for separate presidents to oversee the team’s business and baseball operations.
The owner’s tone resembled his publicly measured crosstown counterpart, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who recently showed support for an MLB salary cap and floor.
