Steven Matz Changes Course On Mets Reunion Causing Twitter Eruption From Steve Cohen
Up until the late hours of Nov. 23, the Mets felt they had a good shot at luring left-handed starter Steven Matz back to New York.
However, Matz had a last second change of heart and ultimately decided to sign a four-year, $44 million deal which includes incentives and a signing bonus that can increase this total figure to $48 million, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
And although the Mets were willing to match the Cardinals' offer, they were never given the opportunity to do so.
As a result, Mets owner Steve Cohen took to Twitter on Wednesday to voice his displeasure with Matz's representation.
"I’m not happy this morning," Cohen wrote in a tweet. "I’ve never seen such unprofessional behavior exhibited by a player’s agent. I guess words and promises don’t matter."
This message saw Matz's agent Rob Martin put out a statement of his own where he chose to "take the high road."
"We are aware of Mr. Cohen’s tweet. It’s unfortunate that he chose to take his frustrations to Twitter," wrote Martin. "I will not do the same, and instead will take the high road which is consistent with both my character and the character of our client.
"Steven Matz grew up a Mets fan, loved his time there, and continues to invest in the New York Community through his efforts supporting New York's First Responders. As a result of all that, there was a strong pull to return to the Mets. But ultimately, he made the decision he felt was best for him and his family. Steven is and always will be grateful to the Mets and Mets fans, but he now looks forward to his next chapter with the tremendous franchise in St. Louis."
According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, Martin called Cohen this morning following his tweet. As Martin told The Post, his conversation with Cohen lessened the hostility and tension, and both he and Matz hold no grudge towards the Mets.
As it turns out, the Mets' biggest gripe wasn't with Matz's decision, but how the timeline was handled on his camp's end which sent some mixed signals.
SNY's Andy Martino revealed Matz's agents reached out to Cohen on Saturday to let him know of Matz's desire to return to the Mets due to unfinished business. This resulted in a zoom meeting the following day where similar sentiments were shared, but in the end, Matz still chose St. Louis over the Mets.
With nine days to go before a potential work stoppage due to the expiring collective bargaining agreement, the Mets are still in need of at least two starting pitchers.
They were hoping a reunion with Matz would fill a hole in the middle of their rotation, but instead, they will be forced to look elsewhere.
