Insider addresses Mets' Steve Cohen possibly punting on 2024

There's yet another indication that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen won't tolerate waiting until 2025 to compete for a postseason berth. 

"If people think [Cohen] will punt on next year they are mistaken," somebody referred to as a "Mets-connected person" recently told MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post. "[They] have a very good core of position players and if they play close to their potential will be in the hunt next year. And you know [Cohen] will sign pitching." 

Heyman offered his update less than a full week after Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested that Cohen will make a significant attempt to land Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in free agency. Heyman added that "we know Cohen and his higher-ups have been eying" Ohtani for some time. 

Amid the Mets' much-publicized fire sale that included acquiring prospects for former co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Scherzer shared that he was informed by club general manager Billy Eppler the Amazins planned to use 2024 as "a kind of transitory year." Following that conversation with Eppler, Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to join the Texas Rangers.

However, Cohen later promised in a letter sent to season-ticket holders he will field a "formidable" team next year. Mets relief pitcher Adam Ottavino subsequently revealed he walked away from a chat with Cohen believing the owner is "not gonna sit back and let the team drown" in 2024. 

It's now hardly a secret that clubhouse issues impacted the 2023 Mets throughout the past several months before the organization jettisoned Scherzer, Verlander and others. 

Heyman hinted the team's pre-trade deadline activities had more to do with such problems than with giving up on both this season and the following campaign. 

"The 2023 season was rotten," Heyman wrote about the Mets. "I didn’t want to admit it, but something is severely wrong." 

For a piece published Tuesday morning, ESPN's Bradford Doolittle predicted Ohtani could receive a contract offer worth around $624M over 11 years in free agency. 

Doolittle hinted such a deal could come from Cohen, but it remains unclear if any amount of money would convince Ohtani to leave the West Coast considering he's about to come into generational wealth regardless of where he signs.