Steve Cohen. Ever heard of him? Maybe you have because he is worth $14 billion… with a B. Or maybe because he just bought the New York Mets. Either way, if you have Twitter, you could always get to know him that way because he seems to have taken a liking to getting into social media and letting the world get a closer look into his personal life. Some call it an addiction, others call it a good time. Up to you to decide that. 

Anyways, back to the baseball aspect. Cohen has came out hot with statements such as:”This is a major market team, and it should have a budget commensurate with that” and “We’re going to build out out processes– whether it’s analytics, whether it’s development of players, we want to be excellent in all areas of this game. That’s going to require resources, and I’m fully committed to making that happen.” He also went on to say “When I really thought about this, you know, I can make millions of people happy, and what an incredible opportunity that is. And so, you know, that’s how I’m thinking about this. You know, I’m not trying to make money here. Okay, like I have my business at Point72 and, you know, I make money over there. So here, you know, it’s really about building something great, building something for fans, winning.”

Talk about saying the right things. If I were a Mets fan, shout out John DiSanto, I would be elated hearing that after coming from an owner such as Fred Wilpon. Cohen seems determined to get this franchise to where it once was and has the money to do so. Although it’s not as easy as it sounds, Cohen seems strong-willed enough to get this team to where he wants it to be. 

The Mets seem to be one of those rare teams that actually have a decent bullpen. With Edwin Diaz finding his true form last season, Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia, Miguel Castro, and newly signed Trevor May, the Mets have checked most of the boxes in their bullpen besides a lefty reliver. With the signing of McCann for four years $40 million, the Mets most likely saved around $60 million if Realmuto was going to request $100 million. With this move, that should almost certainly free up some extra cash for Trevor Bauer and/or George Springer. Both were reported to be “in talks” with the Mets and it seems like they both could be in their plans for the near future. 

If the Mets were to sign Springer, say to a five year deal, that would move Nimmo to left field, McNeil back to second base, since Robinson Cano decided to dabble into the juice again, and then Conforto to stay in right. Not a bad looking outfield. The infield seems set with their commitment to J.D. Davis at third and with breakout star Dom Smith filling in the 1B, outfield, and DH. Of course, former NL RoY Pete Alonso seems to have cemented himself at 1B for the near future as well.

The one spot on their roster that could use a little bit of a boost is the starting rotation. With the best pitcher in baseball in Jacob DeGrom, yes, I think he is better than Gerrit Cole but not by much, they have Noah Syndergaard coming back from Tommy John, Marcus Stroman deciding he wants to play now after stealing $7.4 million from the Mets last year and now Seth Lugo seems to be in the mix. Steven Matz, who had an awful condensed season in 2020, is signed to a one year deal and will hopefully regain his form he had in the 2018 season. The next in line is rookie David Peterson. Besides DeGrom, Peterson was arguably the Mets most productive starter last season and will hopefully have a bigger leash this year to show the Mets that he can contribute as a number 2-3 starter in the future. Peterson is a name to look out for this season if he is not given an innings limit. 

The 2021 season will hopefully not have the word “condensed” in front of it as we move closer to Spring Training here in February. There is already some chatter from the owners that they do not think the season will start on time. Let’s all hope that chatter is after a few cocktails with the boys and they weren’t thinking clearly. 

Everyone enjoy their day! Go Rays and Braves!