When the Mets were finally released from the clutches of their former owners, the comically broke and incompetent Wilpon family, their current player who had most publicly feuded with the Wilpons had something curious to say.
“All I plead is that the new owner treats players and personnel in the organization like people and less like expendable commodities,” Noah Syndergaard said before seemingly going on to directly contradict himself. “That being said, I couldn’t be more excited having the real life Bobby Axelrod leading the charge.”
The first season of “Billions,” the show Syndergaard is referring to, is indeed extremely similar to “Black Edge,” Sheelah Kolhatkar’s definitive account of the investigations into Steve Cohen’s various financial crimes, with some weird sex stuff sprinkled in. But Axelrod, and certainly Cohen, would never make a decision out of the kindness of his heart. He would, in other words, always treat players like expendable commodities.
But that wasn’t the primary problem with the Wilpons. Yes they meddled incessantly and bullied players and staff, but Cohen is not exactly known for being a hands-off boss or running a genteel workplace. (Although he is certainly known for being a more competent type of micromanager.)
No, the main problem with the damn Wilpons was that they didn’t have enough money to fully fund their major league team. Even when they acquired big-money players, they fought tooth and nail to make those players like Pedro Martinez, Yoenis Cespedes and many more play through injuries. When those players were so broken physically that insurance would pay for the contracts, the Wilpons still counted the salary number against the payroll. By the time Cohen arrived, the farm system was stripped to the studs because former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was clearly only authorized to acquire players for prospects, not money.
Cohen isn’t warm and fuzzy, and he won’t hand out market-wrecking contracts. (Just ask Michael Conforto.) But unlike the Wilpons, he is rich as hell. And unlike the other 29 owners, including his stubbornly under-the-tax neighbors in the Bronx, he is willing to admit it.
In the last century of major league baseball, it’s become clear that the “lovable loser” or “cursed” franchises just had cheap owners, and those that broke their jinxes did so by spending money on players. The prospect of Francisco Lindor playing this season with only one year remaining on his contract would have been a familiar one for Mets fans. Even — or especially! — if Lindor went on a tear, they would never quite be able to enjoy themselves, knowing that he might leave for another team with nothing to show for it.
Instead, Lindor signed a 10-year, $341 million deal at the last minute. Steve Cohen, because he is Steve Cohen, pushed the negotiations all the way to the last minute, and ultimately came in at $44 million less than what Lindor wanted. Maybe one more difference between Cohen and the Wilpons is this: he may be tough, but he is not irrational. Lindor’s $34 million a year — less when deferrals are factored in — is a drop in the bucket for a man who dropped $750 million in a single day bailing out his reckless proteges in the GameStop fiasco. The same calculations, more or less, could be thrown in the face of several other owners, though. The bar for baseball’s billionaires is very low; Cohen might be the only one willing to clear it by simply spending the money that he has.
So the Mets start the season (whenever that actually happens) knowing they have a loaded team for years to come. The other shoe isn’t dropping; these aren’t the same old Mets. The whole problem only cost a couple hundred million dollars to fix.