Sal Licata was not a happy camper on Wednesday, lamenting the idea of the Mets punting on the 2024 season with an eye on the future.
But after listening to Steve Cohen's comments Wednesday evening, Licata is back on the Cohen wagon, fully trusting that the owner will do whatever he can to keep the team competitive in 2024, while preparing for a bigger title push in the years ahead.
"I still believe in Steve!" Sal said. "He will build a competitive team next year. He will get this team competing to a championship level over the next 3-5 years. The Mets will be the dominant team in this town because of King Cohen.
"It may be different than we like. I love the superstars, I wanted Ohtani…and by the way, Ohtani may not be realistic because of Ohtani, not King Cohen."
Things may look different than what they had been shaping out to be over the last two seasons, with Cohen dishing out record contracts to established stars like Francisco Lindor, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Edwin Diaz, but Sal believes Cohen will build something more sustainable, while also not making 2024 a lost year.
"Steve said this team won't be built on stars, but it will be built the right way," Sal said. "Clearly, stars don't mean wins. It's not that you don't want the Mets to spend, but ultimately, there's a balance.
"He's learning. He learned from the mistake…he went for it, he took his shot, he realized it's not working, and watching what other teams do, he realized, 'I can still win, I can still compete, but I'm doing this the right way now.'"
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