ESPN
Steve Cohen, who owns the New York Mets, hopes things will improve.
Cohen sent a letter to season ticket holders on Saturday, assuring them that the recent trades made by the front office have set the Mets up for a bright future.
Cohen told the New York Post, the first to report on the letter’s release, in a separate text message that the Mets would have a strong team in 2024, even though the natural results of the trade haul might not be seen for a few years.
“We’ll be competitive in ’24, but I think our young talent will make a difference in ’25 and ’26,” Cohen wrote. “In ’24, there was a lot of pitching in free agency. In 25, there will be more freedom with pay. In ’24, I got a lot of dead money.”
In the letter, Cohen talked about how upset he was that the Mets’ payroll for the 2023 season was more than $350 million.
The Mets will play the second of three games against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. They will have a record of 50-59 at that point. They are in fourth place in the National League East, and the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Miami Marlins, who are all ahead of them, are all in strong positions to make the playoffs.
The Mets traded away Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, outfielders Tommy Pham and Mark Canha, and closer David Robinson before the trade deadline.
Cohen said in the letter, “We added a few key players to our team, but things haven’t gone as planned.” “You have every right to be upset, and so do we.
“We didn’t want to be here in 2023. Our goal is to always be in the running. The only way to do this long-term is to build a pipeline of high-quality talent in our minor leagues that will feed our major league team for years.”
In one of the trades, the Mets got Double-A infielder Luisangel Acuna, the brother of Braves star Ronald Acuna and one of baseball’s top 50 prospects.
“Our front office got young, talented players who are good at many different parts of the game. “These top prospects include infielders Luisangel Acuna, Marco Vargas, Jeremy Rodriguez, and Jeremiah Jackson, outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford, catcher Ronald Hernandez, and right-handed pitchers Justin Jarvis, Coleman Crow, and Landon Marceaux,” Cohen said.
“It will be fun to watch them grow and learn how to win together as they move up in our system.”
Scherzer’s first game with the Rangers was on Wednesday. In six innings, he struck out nine batters and helped Texas win 5-3.
On Saturday, Verlander made his first start of the season for Houston. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits, but the Astros still lost 3-1 to the New York Yankees.
This report was made with help from Reuters.