Steve Cohen spoke with reporters as the Mets season, and Buck Showalter's tenure as manager, came to an end on Sunday.
The Mets owner confirmed that new president of baseball operations David Stearns wanted to bring in his own guy to lead the team, meaning Showalter was out one year before his contract was up.
"The way it works, when you bring in a president of baseball ops, they are entitled to bring in their own people," Cohen said. "It became clear he wanted to go in a different direction, and that's certainly his right.
I gave him that right."
Stearns will be formally introduced at a press conference on Monday afternoon, beginning a new era for the Mets after one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Still, Cohen didn't blame Showalter for that historic disappointment.
"This is not a reflection on Buck," Cohen said. "Buck did everything we wanted him to do. Obviously, this season was a disappointment, but it's not Buck's fault. It's spread across the organization.
"But like I said, when you bring in a new head of baseball ops, they're entitled to bring in their own people."
