Shohei Ohtani is a Dodger, having signed a 10-year deal worth $700 million while Steve Cohen said the two-way superstar's agent never talked to him about a potential deal with the Mets.
Evan finds it unacceptable that Cohen seemingly didn't even try to throw his hat into the ring, and believes it signifies the death of the "caricature" Mets fans created when Cohen bought the team.
"You needed to push your way into these negotiations…you needed to be that caricature we created," Evan said. "The billionaire who just forces his way into the conversation. Make Ohtani say no. Offer him more money than the Dodgers, and make him publicly say no.
"I thought you're the billionaire owner? The point was, try. Steve Cohen is still a billionaire that I'm glad owns this team…but the vision we had of him was 'Money is no object.'"
Evan wanted to be clear that he is still happy Cohen owns the team, and expects him to make a major push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But Ohtani, the best free agent in baseball history, should have been more aggressively pursued by an owner with Cohen's riches.
"There was no effort," Evan said. "It was 'Eh, he didn't want to come here, forget it. If the Yankees did that with CC, he would have never come here.
"I'm thrilled he owns the Mets. The Mets are without a doubt a big market team…but the caricature we all created…this character we created of Steve Cohen, the billionaire bully who's gonna come in and buy everyone he wants, that character is dead."
