Steve Cohen’s press conference Tuesday had Mets fans ready to run through a brick wall. Everything the new owner said was a breath of fresh air. It was essentially the polar opposite of what they got from the Wilpons. Less than 24 hours after the presser, Marcus Stroman decided to opt in and accept the $18.9 million qualifying offer to return to Queens in 2021. There’s a lot of news going on in Mets land, which means it’s time for an emergency “Amazin’ But True” podcast with Nelson Figueroa and me.
We begin the podcast diving into what Cohen said on Tuesday. It’s important that Cohen is big on fan interaction and engagement. Cohen on Twitter is gold and it’s something we never got from the Wilpons. He said all the right things and has a confidence and swagger to him that has Mets fans fired up for the future of the franchise. You love to see an owner talking with fans, changes that can be made and bringing back an Old Timers’ Day. Cohen and Stroman interacting after he decided to return was a thing of beauty. We play some sound bites from the presser and react, including Cohen not worried about making money, but making millions of people happy. This is not his day job. He doesn’t need this money. Cohen saying he will hire baseball people to run things and let them handle it was important. He’s going to inject money into everything from A to Z and build a true baseball team that will contend for many years.
SUBSCRIBE ON:
We get into the future of the team and what comes next in the offseason. Should the Mets make a trade for Francisco Lindor? Should the Mets give big money to Trevor Bauer? Is J.T. Realmuto atop the wish list? Is George Springer right next to him? What do the Mets do with Seth Lugo? What happens to Steven Matz? We answer a lot of questions regarding the rest of this offseason. I go on a passionate rant about how special Cohen is for the franchise and why this is the best time ever to be a Mets fan. Figgie responds with the significance of Cohen and the excitement among the fan base that has already been stirred up. Also, Figgie did the whole show with COVID-19! He was asymptomatic though and his family is hanging in there and on the upswing.
NY Post Mets beat writer Mike Puma then drops by the pod. Puma was on the Zoom for Tuesday’s presser and gives his thoughts on what Cohen and Sandy Alderson had to say. “Both of them knocked it out of the park.” Puma also reacts to Stroman returning to the Mets. Puma looks in his crystal ball to what will come next this offseason for the Mets. Realmuto? Bauer? Springer? Trade for Lindor? Figgie is all-in on paying Realmuto $125-$150 million over five years, if it was up to him. He points to what Yadier Molina did when he was 30-35 and how he could potentially be an option if the Mets don’t get Realmuto. James McCann would be the next option. DH is also a big question moving forward and what the Mets do this offseason, if the NL does keep the DH. Puma also talks about the farm system being depleted, Triple-A basically being major league players off the scrap heap and needing to improve in that area. Puma also explains why he thinks Luis Rojas is going to stay and having a relationship with Alderson being important.
Catch up on all episodes of “Amazin’ But True,” a New York Mets podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Jake Brown on Twitter and Instagram @JakeBrownRadio and Nelson Figueroa @FiggieNY. The next episode of the podcast will come whenever big Mets news happens.
