Whoever Owns Mets Will Inherit a Unique Challenge

Anyone that knows about baseball would tell you this Mets team does not have it in them to make the playoffs.

Sure, they will tease by winning four or five games to get back in the race. Mets fans know better; they know the truth about this team.

The Mets offer nothing to make anyone think they are a playoff team. Their five-game losing streak illustrates that. Not even acquiring Todd Frazier, Robinson Chirinos and Miguel Castro change anyone’s mind.

For one thing, their bullpen stinks. Mets manager Luis Rojas can’t trust anyone in relief. Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances, and Edwin Diaz showed they are lost causes when they get hit.

Second of all, this team can’t drive in runs with runners in scoring position. Hard to win games that way. After an MVP season that won him the NL Rookie of the Year, Pete Alonso experiences a sophomore slump that he and the Mets never envisioned would happen. He has become a problem.

Finally, outside of Jacob deGrom, the starting rotation stinks. It’s so bad that Rojas doesn’t even want the struggling Steven Matz to work out his troubles. He rather prefers anyone than Matz, and the options leave so much to be desired. Who exactly wants to watch Walker Lockett pitch? Losing Noah Syndergaard for Tommy John surgery did not help matters along with Marcus Stroman opting out because of COVID-19.

As Bill Parcells would say, you are what your record says you are. The Mets boast a losing record for a reason.

No one cared much about the Mets when the season started. All Mets fans want to know is who is going to own the team. With Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez bowing out on Friday, it comes down to whether or not the Wilpons want Steve Cohen to own the Mets.

By the way, I never thought Rodriguez was ever serious about owning the Mets. He likes to throw his name out there for people to talk about him. He understands it would be work to operate the Mets, and he doesn’t strike me as a guy who wants to work.

Cohen offers so much money that he would overpay just to buy his hometown team. It remains to be seen if the Wilpons would be happy to accept it. They don’t want Cohen to own the team because he would get all the credit for turning the franchise around, and they just don’t like him. They could sell it to Devils owners and Philadelphia 76ers owners Joshua Harris and David Blitzer out of spite. The Wilpons are spiteful that way.

If Cohen eventually becomes the new owner, he knows he has so much work to do as an owner.

He understands he is going to want his new general manager and manager. Brodie Van Wagenen showed he is overmatched as a general manager, and the players make Rojas look incompetent as a manager by being incompetent on their own. It would be a hard sell for Mets fans to keep both of them if he is the owner.

The organization culture stinks, which there is no accountability from the players, coaches, general manager, ownership, and even the manager. Competence lacks in this organization. Player development trends downward. Onus on Cohen or the new owner to change it around, and it won’t be easy.

Mets fans assume things will get better when the Wilpons are good. In their mind, no one can be any worse. In reality, no one knows what Cohen really is or whoever owns the Mets. There is a good chance the Wilpons can hold on to the team, which would not be ideal for a franchise that needs a fresh start.

Just because Cohen has gobs of money does not mean the Mets will be World Series contenders. He has to find the right general manager and manager outside the organization to make all this work. It won’t be easy since he has no idea about anyone from outside the organization.

The Mets will enter this offseason with so many question marks of fielding a team. So many key spots in the organization need to be filled whether it’s shortstop, third base, outfield, starting pitchers, and relievers. Outside of Dominic Smith, Jacob deGrom, and Alonso, the Mets have so many people to watch and positions to look at. This means rebuilding may have to happen before the Mets can be a playoff team.

If the Mets look for someone outside the organization, he has to build this team from his own vision.

It means rebuilding because this team is far away from being a championship. It also means Cohen or whoever owns the Mets may have to deal with trading deGrom to make this team better.