Steve Cohen talked with reporters at Mets spring training on Sunday, and as he talked about the challenges of meeting his initial five-year goal of building a champion, he threw some shade at the Wilpons and what he inherited when taking over ownership of the franchise.
"I would hope that we would have had more winning seasons, but it's not easy," Cohen said. "In the end, I was given what I was given."
Still, Cohen spoke highly of where the organization is now, with David Stearns in the fold and the farm system steadily improving. Between the team's youth and Cohen's wallet, he believes the Mets are on their way to being a sustained contender, even if it winds up being later than he initially hoped.
"I'm really encouraged by not just the player talent, but the person we hired into the organization," Cohen said. "This is turning into a world-class organization."
The Mets seemed to hit bottom last season after coming into 2023 with the highest payroll in league history, only to wave the white flag at the trade deadline. But Cohen points to that fire sale as an accelerant to get the team where it wanted to be, as a farm system on the rise with a youthful core already getting a taste of the major leagues.
"We're starting to see the fruits of that," Cohen said. "We have another draft coming up in a couple months. For the first time, I'd say we're starting to look stacked. I don't think I ever would have used that term before. That's a good feeling…I'm hopeful."
