The Mets’ Steve Cohen told no lies in passive-aggressive shot at MLB owners’ cheap spending

Cohen is ABSOLUTELY right.

In the current pantheon of baseball ownership, the New York Mets’ Steve Cohen might be a unicorn.

As various owners around the league try to keep their total payroll low — 11 teams are lower than $100 million, according to Spotrac — Cohen is going all out for the Mets.

After a flurry of a free agency spending period where the Mets added stalwarts like Justin Verlander and re-signed core pieces like Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo, New York now has baseball’s highest payroll. In fact, at over $335 million, the next-closest team to the Mets is the crosstown Yankees, at roughly $68 million less.

In an interview with ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Cohen heartily acknowledged he might be outside the box when writing large checks to players compared to the thriftiness of his peers. In fact, Cohen even took it a step further — he essentially told them they should look inward if they’re bothered by how he spends.

Phew!

Nothing Cohen said there is a lie. Not one word. Cohen isn’t breaking any rules by opening his wallet more than others.

Here’s an additional thought. If other owners are really bothered by how Cohen’s Mets are using his resources to build a good team, perhaps they should be trying to spend to build a winner! It’s not a difficult concept.