Speaking to reporters in the Mets' dugout ahead of Wednesday's series finale against the Padres at Citi Field, owner Steve Cohen discussed the state of the team, touching on his hope for the future while looking back at why the 2026 season went sideways.
While Cohen reaffirmed his commitment to president of baseball operations David Stearns, who is under contract through the 2028 season, he also went into detail about "mistakes" he felt were made as the 2026 team was being constructed.
"We might have taken too much risk as far as when you think about all the changes that were made," Cohen said. "Whenever there are significant changes, sometimes it takes a while to integrate. Those are the things I'm looking at. It's an example of where we can be better."
Cohen added:
"I just think when you add new players, when you add a coaching staff. Maybe adding players with an injury history. When you add risk upon risk upon risk -- one risk alone, but when you add enough risk to something, all of a sudden you can have a dispersion of results. It doesn't mean that it had to turn out bad. It just means that you have dispersion of results, and maybe the possibility of an undesirable result is more of a possibility because of the risk you're taking.
"I equate it to running a portfolio. The more risk you take in a portfolio -- yeah, it can have major upside, but also your downside can be bigger. And so you can have bigger variance in results. I think that's what happened here."
The Mets underwent a drastic makeover during the offseason, with Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leaving via free agency, while Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil were traded.
New York also turned over nearly the entire coaching staff aside from manager Carlos Mendoza (who was fired and replaced by interim manager Andy Green in late June).
When it comes to the players who left, Diaz has been injured and ineffective for the Dodgers and McNeil has struggled for the Athletics. Meanwhile, the Mets' outfield seems set for the future with Juan Soto, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Benge as Nimmo puts up strong offensive numbers for the Rangers (while playing poor outfield defense).
The decision to not make a strong effort to retain Alonso, who signed a five-year deal with the Orioles worth $155 million, looms large given how Alonso is performing (.854 OPS and 28 homers in 126 games for Baltimore), his connection to the fan base, and who the Mets chose to help replace him.
Shortly before Cohen spoke, it was revealed that Jorge Polanco -- who was signed in part to replace Alonso at first base and in the lineup -- would be having season-ending surgery due to the left ankle bursitis that limited him to just 37 games this season as he hit .148/.201/.230 with two home runs in 145 plate appearances.

Before signing a two-year deal with New York, Polanco had been limited by injury each of the last four seasons, including issues with his knee, hamstring, and ankle.
Another key player the Mets brought in this past offseason was Marcus Semien, who was acquired in the trade for Nimmo, allowing New York to clear the final two years of Nimmo's contract.
Semien played through a hip injury earlier this season and has struggled badly offensively, hitting just .208/.269/.351 (.620 OPS) in 107 games.
The main risk when it came to Semien had to do with his performance at the plate, which sagged in 2024 and 2025 before cratering this season.
Stearns and the Mets also took a chance on oft-injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who has been limited to 48 games this season because of a back injury and has a .648 OPS.
The Mets took risk in the offseason with the rotation as well, banking on bounce backs from Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Sean Manaea, who all struggled badly down the stretch in 2025.
Senga dealt with injuries, was removed from the rotation, and has been thriving lately in a high-leverage relief role, Peterson was traded to the Cubs in July, and Manaea (who dealt with a bone chip issue last season) was relegated to the bullpen for the first few months before returning to the rotation in June and finding success -- and his fastball velocity.
One of Stearns' major offensive moves in the offseason that is working out is the Bo Bichette signing.
But Bichette seemed to have a bit of an adjustment period early on as he put up a .583 OPS in 59 games through May. Since then, he is hitting .312/.350/.464 (.814 OPS) and playing strong defense at third base.
Putting a bow on his thoughts regarding how too much risk might have hurt the 2026 Mets, Cohen summed it up:
"When I look at it as a whole, I see individual decisions that make perfect sense. But when you add it all up, then you get into a different realm of 'did we take too much risk?' It's kind of looking at it from a top down perspective as opposed to an individual decision."
Given Cohen's feelings and the lessons Stearns has learned, it's fair to believe the Mets will approach this coming offseason differently.


















