Steve Cohen prefers a long-term approach to building a winning team to trying a quick fix through free agency.
In a question-and-answer session hosted by Howie Rose on the team’s YouTube channel Wednesday night, the new Mets owner indicated that while he is a fan and wants to win immediately, he wants to build a foundation for continued success.
“As a fan, they want me to sign everyone tomorrow, but is that a sustainable strategy?” Cohen said. “Ultimately you want to develop talent. You want to develop your business system. For me, that’s the most sustainable way to create a winning team year after year. Yes, you can start buying players, but you may be buying players who are in their 30s and we know that there is a lot of data that indicates that players’ performance tends to decline in their early 30s. “
Under Cohen, a hedge fund billionaire who completed his purchase of the club last month, the Mets have added catcher James McCann to a four-year deal worth $ 40.6 million. Reliever Trevor May came up with a two-year deal for $ 15.5 million. The Mets continue to hunt for George Springer, the best outfielder on the market and Trevor Bauer, the best starting pitcher available in free agency.
Cohen reiterated that he leaves baseball decisions to the front office, led by team president Sandy Alderson, and will not interfere.
“Everyone wants to win now – I want to win now,” said Cohen. “But I also don’t want to put ourselves in a position where, if we don’t win now, we’ll have hindered our ability to win on the road. While I’m learning these are tough decisions. They are not easy decisions and you are dealing with imperfect information because you do not know how they will perform as they go through the contract.
“The data suggests that if you sign enough players in their thirties, you drop to an average and you get potentially mediocre performance if you sign enough of them. … I have to bridge that gap. Right now, the farm system, at least the higher levels, is not where we want it to be. “
The Mets have fallen behind in the use of technology and analytics, but Cohen expects that to change. He cited discussions about implementing cameras that can measure a pitcher’s biomechanics.
“They will get everything they need,” Cohen said. “We are not going to cut back on things like that. You must, of course, measure whether that expense was worth it. In addition, you have to train the people who are going to use this equipment and the players to get the most out of it. You just can’t install equipment and hope it works. It’s also a people problem. “
Cohen was asked what success his property will look like in Year 1. The Mets finished last in the NL East in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
“That we have a playoff caliber team and that we have significantly improved our performance,” said Cohen. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t perform better.”