New York Mets owner Steve Cohen spared no expense this offseason and he's standing by that very decision.
With the Mets seeking redemption following their National League wild-card elimination, Cohen and the front office left no stone unturned in delivering a star-studded group of additions for 2023. And in the process, Cohen addressed the outside noise about owners across Major League Baseball being unhappy with how he's gone about rebuilding the Mets' roster.
Cohen revealed that not everyone is against him.
"At the owners' meeting, I had owners coming up and they go, 'You're 100% right. You are following the rules.' Which I am," Cohen said at Spring Training on Monday, per SNY video. "Like I said in a previous article, they laid down the rules and I'm following them"
Cohen also isn't planning on allowing the result of 2023 to determine whether or not he's done a sufficient job as the team owner.
"I think this is really important, when I measure my success as an owner, obviously you wanna win a World Series," Cohen said. "But I'm also gonna measure my success on building a farm system so we can create sustainability year in and year out."
With the Mets adding the likes of Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, and Jose Quintana among others, Cohen has pushed New York's payroll to north of $375 million. But with the Mets having last appeared in a World Series in 2015, and last winning it all in 1986, Cohen is determined to redirect the organization to brighter days ahead.
Cohen and the Mets committed over $806.1 million in contracts this offseason.
"I was a little surprised that the prices had gone up for players more than I would've guessed," Cohen said.
