Best of the Mets on WFAN: Steve Cohen speaks, but raises more questions

**Craig Carton** (0:00)
A little bit more on the Steve Cohen interview with Joel Sherman and John Heyman.
Yes, he was honest and we like that. There's a couple of things though that I think that it's... Yeah, we criticize guys for saying stuff. Some criticize people for not saying stuff. I like when guys don't say stuff most of the time because sometimes it creates problems. I do think there was a middle ground where Steve Cohen could have not said a couple of things to stir up the pissed off fan base even more.
And he did do that. I mean, in this season that is so bad, the owner coming on and saying he is very worried about the 2027 season, not the potential lockout or work stoppage, but what the Mets are next year and how the new CBA could be such a handcuff to them and the fact that their minor league system has regressed. I mean, so you're telling me that there's not a lot that you can do. So this slop that we are watching this year is what we're going to get next year. Probably isn't a great business decision by the owner.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:13)
He also could be setting you up for trade deadline deals. Think about that for a second. So there could be like Freddie Peralta, Bo Bichette, these guys could be traded and then that could refortify if you get back some good prospects for them for teams that are going for it this year. Yeah, that possibly could happen, too.
There's really not much an owner can say that is going to land perfectly with every fan.

**Craig Carton** (1:41)
When your team's terrible.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:42)
When your team is terrible. That's the bottom line. Everybody loves Jim Dolan now because they won a championship.
And for years and years and years, they questioned his decision making when it came to leadership and acquiring players and what was thought to be meddling. And you remember all the guys covering the team back then. We're all talking about how he would meddle and get involved in different things. And those decisions would always go haywire.
But when he finally hired Leon Rose in 2020, it changed. David Stearns was supposed to be the Leon Rose of the New York Mets. Now he has two and a half years left on his contract. And I think that Steve Cohen has got to let him try to get out of this if he can.
So maybe Steve is talking more about the trade deadline. Be prepared because I'm worried about this. And by the way, who knows what the CBA is going to look like? I doubt there's going to be a salary cap. But there is a enormous push within baseball. And I'm not saying it's coming from Steve Cohen. It's not certainly. I don't know if the Yankees are for this or what. It's not coming from the Dodgers. But there is a real, real push to minimize long-term contracts and these payouts to these players because the owners feel like these things never work out long run.

**Craig Carton** (3:03)
Yeah. And the Lindor-Soto stuff, I thought he didn't need to say that it was a problem last year, even though he was saying that those guys are getting along well this year. But here's a question that only someone like you can answer. I mean, when you have two stars, two high-profile guys in the same locker room that at one point didn't like one another, do you believe that that relationship can do a 180 where they actually do get along? Because when I hear an owner tell me that these guys at one point didn't like one another in the first year, then I'm thinking that maybe they won't be at each other's throats like Lindor and Jeff McNeil were, but they're probably never going to like one another.

**Chris McMonigle** (3:48)
I think it all stems on what the issue is and what the problem between the two players is. So if it, let's say it's Jeff McNeil and Lindor, and let's say it, or Brandon Nimmo for that matter. Maybe it has to do with politics. Maybe it has to do with their support of Donald Trump and his hatred of Donald Trump. And because that is such a big schism now in our society, that is, you're never going to overcome that. You're not going to change either side's mind. And we have seen that. We've lived through it, and we're living through it right now as we speak. So, something had to be done, and maybe it was easier to get rid of those guys than it was to get rid of Francisco Lindor. Maybe they love Francisco Lindor in the clubhouse, other than those guys that they ended up shipping out. I don't know. But I will say that you would think that two guys like Lindor and Soto would get along because when they did sign their contracts, they reset the position numbers for each of those players.