Mets owner Steve Cohen is taking a “league-first” approach to MLB’s collective bargaining negotiations, saying he will defer to the league’s labor committee as owners and players continue to debate issues including a salary cap.
The Mets rank second in the majors with a $365M payroll but find themselves in last place in the NL East as the All-Star break approaches.
“Listen, I’m a league-first guy,” Cohen said Wednesday on the N.Y. Post’s “The Show” podcast. “I’m gonna allow the labor committee to do their thing. I don’t know how this is going to play out. I’m pretty confident that whatever changes are going to be made will be made post-2027.
Cohen continued: “I think we can operate in the way we’re operating through 2027, because I don’t know when (or) how the CBA will go and when they come to an agreement. But it could easily come in the middle of a season, it could come before the season, maybe there’s no lockout. Maybe they figure it out. I don’t know. But my belief is whatever changes will be made will be post-2027 and won’t interfere with the season.”
MLB’s initial proposal to the union includes a hard salary cap of $245.3M and a mandatory salary floor of $171.2M. The MLBPA has repeatedly rejected the concept of a salary cap.
The Mets’ struggles have been a key argument for the union as to why heavy spending does not guarantee success. The team recently fired manager Carlos Mendoza, though Cohen said embattled president of baseball operations David Sterns, halfway through a five-year, $50M deal, is safe.
The Mets are on track to miss the postseason for a second straight year, a disappointment given Cohen’s lofty expectations -- including his now regrettable comment about a World Series in three to five years -- when he purchased the team for $2.4B in late 2020.
“I’m getting ripped around the dinner table,” Cohen said, jokingly. “When you’re watching a team lose, it’s just like any fan, I’m a fan too, we’re feeling the same thing our fans are feeling. And listen, the weight of responsibility on my shoulders, because I came in and what did I say: I wanted to do something great for New York, and I’m failing. I’m failing. We’re six years in and I want sustainable success. We’ve had moments but just not enough of them.”
Cohen said he is asking the question of his organization: “What the hell happened here?”
“I’ve got to hold people accountable. Everyone screams accountability, accountability. Trust me, I’m holding them accountable, and they know it,” Cohen said. “But it’s a process and it takes them time and I haven’t reached any conclusions.”
