Steve Cohen needs longer than a week to decide whether or not the Mets’ lineup is too weak.
Anyone who thought the Mets’ owner might unleash a tirade, à la late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, on the heels of the three-game sweep to the Brewers that included back-to-back shutout losses and soured the first week of the season, would have been surprised Friday to hear Cohen preaching patience.
“It’s foolish to make conclusions in such a short period of time,” Cohen said in the dugout before the Mets beat the Marlins, 9-3, in their home opener.
Fans prone to overreaction behind anonymous user names on social media might disagree after the Mets took a 3-4 start into Friday.
And Cohen, who considers himself a fan and watches almost every inning of the season, while bankrolling the highest-paid team in MLB history, said he accepts that fans are “entitled” to a rush to judgment.
“It’s only seven games,” Cohen said. “Long way to go. We’ve got a lot of injuries and obviously, that’s a concern. We’ve got to get healthy. This is a veteran team, lots of depth. I’m excited by this team, and we’ll see what happens.”
In addition to the injuries that have prevented starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana from making their Mets debuts, ended closer Edwin Diaz’s season and sidelined catcher Omar Navarez for possibly two months, the Mets will play 17 of their first 23 games on the road.
Cohen said he “knew this [April] was going to be a little more difficult” than expected, but does he still see a championship-caliber team?
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” he said. “We have veteran pitchers. Let’s get into the season. Let’s not make any conclusions in the early stages. Last year, we got off to a great start and had a tough September and playoffs. I’d rather finish strong.”
If not seven games, what is the right sample size for accurately assessing the $377 million Mets?
“Eight games,” Cohen quipped, drawing a laugh from media members after pulling the same stunt with manager Buck Showalter earlier in the day. “That’s a joke. It’s really hard to say. Is it May? Is it June? I don’t know. We’ll know it when we see it. We’re also going to be optimistic. If we have to do things to improve the ball club, we will.”
That includes potentially dipping into Triple-A for Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Francisco Alvarez already has been forced up to the majors by Navarez’s injury.
“I’m committed to our farm system,” Cohen said. “That’s frankly the only way that, over the long term, the payroll is going to come down.”
Sticking to his don’t-panic script, Cohen said the Mets haven’t discussed which top prospects might be untouchable in deals.
If angry fans had their way, third baseman Eduardo Escobar and designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, whose struggles from last year have carried over, already would be on the bench.
“It was the goal to bridge to younger players coming up and contributing,” Cohen said. “You don’t want to rush [minor league] players. It’s a small sample. Off to a great start. Give them some time and let them develop in a normal way. We’ve got really good players on the major league roster, and when the time is right I’m sure [the prospects] will make a contribution.”