Analyst addresses Mets' spending philosophy after quiet offseason

For a piece published Tuesday, ESPN MLB analyst Bradford Doolittle insisted that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns will pursue big-name free agents sooner rather than later following the organization's uninspiring offseason. 

"This will not be an annual thing for the Cohen Mets, even if Stearns' background is in winning more with spending less," Doolittle said about the team president who previously served as an executive with the Milwaukee Brewers. "As a New York native and childhood Mets fan, Stearns didn't return to the Big Apple just to replicate what he had in Milwaukee." 

Cohen's 2023 Mets were baseball's most expensive flop before he signed off on trading high-priced co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander last summer. It's no secret that Cohen wanted Yoshinobu Yamamoto to help replace Scherzer and Verlander in the rotation, but both Yamamoto and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani instead joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. 

"The Mets' offseason was largely one of building up depth," Doolittle wrote about Stearns' pivot after Yamamoto and Ohtani rejected the Amazins. "It's not sexy, but New York still has the game's highest payroll and plenty of star power on the roster." 

While it remains unclear if the Mets will re-sign All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso assuming he reaches free agency following the ongoing season, it's widely expected that Cohen will give Stearns a blank check for the pursuit of current New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto. Soto is on track to hit the open market this coming fall but seems to be loving life with the Yankees. 

Meanwhile, the Mets opened the 2024 campaign at 4-6.

"Stearns was brought in to combine his powers of efficiency with Steve Cohen's spending might, in order to create a sustainable behemoth," Doolittle added. "There was bound to be a transition phase during which Stearns could reshape things to a new collaborative state of harmony, which is more or less how he's prone to describe it." 

Doolittle's words may soothe anxious Mets fans, but it's worth noting that Cohen's funds meant little to Ohtani and Yamamoto after New York's woeful 2023 season. Depending on how bad things get for the Mets between now and October, Soto may instruct his camp to decline calls made by Cohen during the free-agency process.