Adding context to Steve Cohen's comments about Vlad Guerrero Jr.
The Mets owner had some interesting things to say about the Blue Jay star's impending free agency. Plus, another busy day at Mets camp...
What’s up with the Mets? 🌴
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that SS Francisco Lindor addressed the entire team for the very first time at spring training (SNY)
LHP José Quintana wanted a return to the Mets this offseason and, despite still being available, hasn’t been contacted by the Mets in the wake of the Frankie Montas injury (NY Post)
SNY announced a new streaming home on MLB.TV and the MLB app, meaning Mets fans can now watch their team in-market without a TV bundle (The Athletic)
The Mets hosted St. Lucie County Special Olympians at Clover Park on Tuesday, with OF Brandon Nimmo, LHP Sean Manaea and 3B Mark Vientos among the enthusiastic players in attendance (SNY)
Jeff McNeil hopes to be rediscovering his swing thanks to the help of the club’s new hitting lab in Port St. Lucie (Athletic)
President of baseball operations David Stearns was the latest guest on ‘Meet at the Apple,’ where the addition of OF Juan Soto was just one of many topics covered (YouTube)
Spring workouts highlights - Tuesday 🏋️♀️
Juan Soto was seen taking part in some outfield drills, before taking BP along with the likes of Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo (SNY)
Pete Alonso was busy getting in some defensive work at first base having recently arrived at camp (SNY)
Kodai Senga had a throwing session in the bullpen, while Paul Blackburn, Sean Reid-Foley, Brandon Sproat and Griffin Canning all recorded strikeouts during live BP (SNY)
Jeff McNeil went yard during live BP in an encouraging early sign from the veteran infielder (SNY)
Mets catchers were put through a number of different drills and workouts on a busy and long day in Port St. Lucie (Mets YouTube Channel)
What Steve Cohen said on Tuesday… 🎙️
Steve Cohen spoke with reporters about a myriad of different topics on Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights:
Cohen made clear that making the playoffs is the minimum expectation in 2025, before stressing that winning a World Series is the ultimate goal. He also talked about striving for sustainable success over multiple years
The Mets owner is pumped about having Soto in the lineup and think fans will love the entire experience, while he sees the 2025 team as one with lots of depth that will be able to produce runs. He is also of the opinion that the starting pitching will “surprise people”
Cohen did express his disappointment about the Mets ranking 18th in MLB attendance last year, admitting that low turnout down the stretch during a pennant race really “bothered” him. He is, however, looking forward to bigger attendances in 2025 with ticket sales reportedly up at Citi Field
The Dodgers and their spending has been the hot-button issue throughout the offseason, but Cohen praised LA, calling them a “great organization” and highlighting the “great business” they’ve built
Cohen did make light about the so-called “Cohen Tax,” but did admit that he would like to get below the tax at some point
However, on the flip-side of that, Cohen made it crystal clear that he will “compete under any circumstances” and, even if the rules change at some point, he will always ensure the Mets are competitive
Finally, Cohen talked about the current state of the Willets Points project, noting that 2025 is an “important year” for the project and adding that the project needs an “economic engine” like a casino in order to make the entire project work
“We’ve got to make the playoffs - that’s the minimum. After getting a taste of being in the League Championship Series, we want to go to the World Series. I really want to win. And if we put ourselves in that position enough, maybe it doesn’t happen this year, maybe it does, but if we keep putting ourselves in position in the playoffs and to make a deep run, we’re going to win the World Series at some point.”
- Steve Cohen
Breaking down Steve Cohen’s comments about Vlad Guerrero Jr. …✍️
Steve Cohen certainly kept reporters busy on Tuesday, providing a notebook or two’s worth of headline-worthy quotes.
We covered the broad basis of what Cohen spoke about in the above section, but arguably the most interesting topic Cohen covered deserves its own section.
Shortly after news broke that the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the player’s self-imposed start of spring training deadline, Cohen was asked about Guerrero Jr. and offered up this response:
“He’s a great ballplayer,” Cohen told reporters on Tuesday. “Once again, I’ll worry about that next year. Obviously, with payroll considerations - you really can’t have too many long-term contracts because then you lose your roster flexibility. So you gotta be really careful. But I’ll let my baseball people make that decision.”
Now, there’s a lot to decipher from those comments alone. It is worth starting with the simple fact that the Mets clearly have an interest in Guerrero Jr. given that they checked in on the first baseman with the Blue Jays before ultimately bringing back Pete Alonso on a two-year deal. And there will no doubt be a lot more interest in Guerrero Jr. from a whole host of teams once he hits the open market next offseason.
And why wouldn’t there be? Guerrero Jr. owns a career 137 OPS+ with 160 home runs and 507 RBIs. He’s already a four-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger, and a one-time Gold Glove winner. He’s also played in 155 or more games in each of the last four seasons. Oh, and he’s not even 26 years old yet.
All told, Guerrero Jr. is a special, special, special player who is about to hit his prime, and who could really help put a contending team over the top for years to come. So, of course, the Mets will probably be one of the interested teams involved in the Guerrero Jr. sweepstakes after the 2025 season. And, as we’ve seen with the trade for Francisco Lindor, the pursuits of Carlos Correa and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and then the record-breaking signing of Juan Soto, anything is possible with Cohen as the owner of this franchise.
However, with that said, it is worth paying extra attention to what Cohen said on Tuesday. He spoke about the danger of dishing out too many long-term contracts to just a small pool of players. That in turn wipes out any roster flexibility and keeps the team tied into too many veteran players in key roster spots. It is a problem both the Yankees and the Phillies have faced and will continue to face down the road. Just look at the Phillies in particular. They are built to win now but, with the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Aaron Nola all tied down to long and expensive deals, they were unable to add any significant pieces this winter to what is a flawed roster. The Yankees will face similar problems with Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodón all on sizable and lengthy contracts.
The Mets don’t want to find themselves trapped in the same dark corner, and you can’t blame them for that. It has become abundantly clear that this team, under the careful guidance of Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns, values roster flexibility above all else. That has been demonstrated by the way the front office has built the starting rotation in each of the last two years, and it has also been shown with the way the organization is approaching the second base position this season.
Cohen clearly doesn’t care about the money, and he will do what it takes to be uber-competitive year in and year out. He made that clear on Tuesday too. But he’s also not going to spend like a drunken sailor just for the sake of it, and he’s also not going to sacrifice the ability to make future improvements and adjustments to the roster as and when is needed. That’s exactly why the front office stuck to their guns so fervently in the Alonso negotiations. They believe Alonso has a set worth, and they didn’t want to overpay and also lock up first base for the foreseeable future.
It is also worth throwing out there the fact that, while Guerrero Jr. is no doubt a better all-round hitter than Alonso, he’s not that much of an upgrade defensively, and there will be concerns over how that body ages. So, if Cohen and Stearns were reluctant to give Alonso a long-term deal, will they be so willing to hand out a multi-year deal to Guerrero Jr. and restrict their ability to add in other areas? Of course, the big difference between the two is that Guerrero Jr. will be entering his age-27 season in 2026, so it would make more sense to commit to a longer contract.
Additionally, would the Mets look to keep Alonso as strictly a DH if they did go all out for Guerrero Jr.? Or would they be happy to allow Alonso to walk after this season?
It is an interesting debate, and Cohen certainly hasn’t ruled out chasing after Guerrero Jr. when he does hit free agency. It is also worth noting that Cohen stressed he will allow his baseball people to make the final call on that one.
Guerrero Jr. would certainly make the Mets a better team, and a big five featuring Vlad, Soto, Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Alvarez would certainly be formidable. But, for a brain trust that is intent on building a perennial winner the right way, it will be interesting to see if they ultimately value Guerrero Jr. enough to hand out another blockbuster deal and sacrifice some valuable roster flexibility down the road.
Only time will tell.
Around the League 🚩
Joe Buck will be on duty for his first national MLB game since 2021 when he calls the Brewers - Yankees nationally televised matchup on Opening Day (ESPN PR)
The Cubs reportedly agreed to a one-year, $6 million deal with free agent third baseman Justin Turner after missing out on Alex Bregman (The Athletic)
Former Mets reliever Adam Ottavino agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox with an invitation to spring training camp (NY Post)
SNY recently replayed the game that clinched the playoffs last season. Adam Ottavino had a good day. It was a nice way to end his season. I wish him well.
As noted in another entry, José Quintana would make sense with Montas hurt.
To say Cohen doesn’t care about the money is clearly false. There is no cap in baseball. The only thing preventing “roster flexibility” is money. It’s just a buzzword that sterns and cohen use to so they don’t look cheap. There’s simply no good reason for the Mets rotation to not feature one of the three premier free agents from this winter. Sterns has more money than god but is unwilling to eat a contract if it goes bad. So we start the spring with Frankie montas as our #3 and he’s already hurt. It’s a bad contract, but it’s cheap so that’s fine. Now he’s out on Vlad jr a year in advance making excuses. Not the owner we thought we were getting.