After going silent on X for the last couple of months, New York Mets owner Steven Cohen took to the social media platform on Friday to fire back at fans unhappy about what seem like cost-cutting measures this offseason.
Last week delivered a nightmare scenario for Mets fans. Going into the offseason, supporters knew there was a chance All-Stars Edwin Diaz and Pete Alonso could leave in free agency. Yet, with having the richest owner in the sport, most assumed the front office would do whatever it took to hold on to core members of the roster.
Well, that didn’t happen, and Diaz took a record deal from the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Alonso will take his talents down I-95 to the Baltimore Orioles for $155 million. The departures enraged fans who are now demanding the organization make some big moves to fill the void left by the exits. However, that has not happened. At least not yet.
Instead, the front office has responded by signing Jorge Polanco and Luke Weaver. Impact players, no doubt, but veterans that are not of equal or better value to Diaz and Alonso. The team is also expected to go with a greater youth movement in 2026, and it has some fans wondering if this winter is all about cutting costs after several seasons with a top-three payroll in the MLB.
New York Mets payroll (2025): $342 million
However, on Friday, Cohen looked to quiet the concerns about having a far lower payroll next season and took aim at the “idiots” misinterpreting a recent New York Post story.
“As typical, the usual idiots misinterpret a Post article on Mets’ payroll for ‘ 26,” he wrote in a post on X. “I can’t imagine our payroll to be lower than last year. It’s always hard to predict, but that would be my best guess.”
He then followed that up with an X post explaining that amateur “payroll watchers” don’t really understand how finances in MLB work.
“Payroll watchers always forget to budget for waiver claims, player movement from minors to majors, and trade deadline moves. That’s how it typically works,” Cohen wrote.
In their report on the club’s payroll for 2026, the NYP claimed, “The Mets estimate their payroll for next season to fall somewhere in the $310 million to $320 million range with multiple holes remaining.” Their payroll this past season was just over $340 million.
