Mets Owner Steve Cohen Sends Bold Message to Fans Amid Rough Stretch

Mets owner Steve Cohen spoke in London and had a bold message for disgruntled fans.

May 19, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Mets owner Steve Cohen sits court side during the second quarter of game seven of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets' season has not gone as planned this year, and there's really no sugarcoating it given their abysmal 27-36 start entering play on Sunday.

But team owner Steve Cohen spoke to reporters in London on Sunday morning and issued a bold message to the Mets' disgruntled fan base.

"The fans have been through worse," Cohen said before the Mets' series finale with the Philadelphia Phillies. "We're trying to break that history."

Cohen took things a step further by saying he has seen improvement from the club as of late, and believes the Mets still have a "good run in them."

But time is of the essence, as the Mets have about seven weeks or so to turn the ship around before Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns have to start selling off veteran pieces at the July 30 trade deadline.

For the Mets, this would be the second straight summer in which they hold a fire-sale after shipping future Hall of Fame starting pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander out of town at the 2023 deadline in exchange for a slew of top prospects such as Luisangel Acuna, Ryan Clifford and Drew Gilbert.

Should the Mets be forced to sell, it will start with star slugger Pete Alonso, who has been the Mets' franchise cornerstone since making his major league debut in 2019. During this span, Alonso leads all of baseball in home runs and RBIs. For that, the Mets should get a solid return if they trade him, but probably not as significant as they are shooting for since he is playing on an expiring contract.

While it appears like the Mets will remain out of contention from now until the deadline in the end of July, Cohen is not focused on that possibility, and is hopeful that his team can climb back into the race.

Entering the day, the Mets sat only four games out of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, however, they are well below .500 and are trailing seven teams for this position.