Steve Cohen says it’s early to judge Mets season, sees making team a winner as a ‘civic responsibility’

The
New
York
Mets
and
their
revamped
roster
are
languishing
in
this
young
baseball
season,
but
owner

Steve
Cohen
isn’t
panicking,
not
by
a
longshot.

After
all,
one
of
the
most
prolific
hedge
fund
managers
on
Wall
Street
knows
what
it’s
like
to
post
some
losing
trades
early
in
the
year,
only
to
rebound
later
and
go
on
to
a
winning
campaign.
This,
he
said,
is
largely
the
same.

“It’s
only
four
games
into
the
season
right?”
Cohen
told
CNBC’s
Andrew
Ross
Sorkin
during
an
interview
Wednesday
on
“Squawk
Box”
that
touched
on
his
thus-far
winless
team
that
he
purchased
in
2020. “Nobody
wants
to
start
zero
and
four,
but
you
know,
it’s
early.
During
the
season,
you’re
going
to
have
losing
streaks.
We
just
happen
to
have
one
at
the
beginning.”

The
struggles
come
after
a
disappointing
season
in
which
the
Mets
were
supposed
to
contend
for
a
championship
but
instead
limped
to
a
fourth-place
finish
in
the
National
League
East,
despite
having
the
highest
payroll
in
baseball.

Recognizing
that
the
current
mix
wasn’t
working,
Cohen
cleaned
house,
trading
big-name
pitchers
Justin
Verlander
and
Max
Scherzer
along
with
others.
The
team
followed
up
those
moves
with
some
solid
pickups
in
free
agency
and
are
now
looking
to
2025
as
a
chance
to
contend
for
a
title.

The
Mets
are
holding
out
hope
for
2024,
but
have
started
the
year
scoring
just
eight
runs
in
their
four
losses
while
giving
up
19.

Amid
it
all,
Cohen,
founder
of
the
Point
72
Asset
Management,
said
he
is
enjoying
being
an
owner,
something
he
views
through
a
larger
prism
than
just
winning
ballgames.

“I
don’t
care
about
the
cost
side,”
he
said
when
asked
about
the
huge
dollars
he
has
put
into
the
team. “I
said
in
my
original
press
conference,
if
I
can
make
millions
of
people
happy,
how
cool
is
that?
So
I
actually
view
it
as
a
civic
responsibility.”

That
doesn’t
mean
the
losing
doesn’t
bother
him.
But
he
is
playing
the
long
game
with
the
Mets,
not
looking
for
immediate
gratification.

“Nobody
wants
to
lose
money
forever
and
spend
money
and
not
not
have
success,”
he
said. “To
me,
I
think
success
is
not
only
winning
the
World
Series,
getting
in
the
playoffs
and
winning
the
World
Series.
It’s
also
developing
like
a
deep
farm
system
that
creates
talent
over
the
years,
and
over
and
over
again.”