Steve Cohen Discusses 2025 Mets With Howie Rose

With spring training underway, the New York Mets begin their 2025 journey. With that, owner Steve Cohen sat down with the voice of the Mets, Howie Rose, for his annual preseason interview on the Meet The Apple podcast to discuss their offseason activities, the 2025 expectations, and much more. 

Re-Signing Pete Alonso

One of the biggest question marks all offseason was whether Pete Alonso would be back with the team for the 2025 season. Alonso, a lifelong Met, had been in talks with Cohen and general manager David Stearns all offseason, but the two sides were seemingly not close. It got to a point where the Mets looked to be moving on. However, the two sides eventually agreed on a 2-year deal with an opt-out after this season. 

“We wanted him back. I kept asking David Stearns, I go, you sure you want him back? He goes, yeah, we want him back. That was the refrain and frankly, I know he was talking to other teams. So, you never just because you want him back doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to actually get him back. We always wanted him back. He’s a great Met. I’m really excited for him to chase down the Met home record this year. I think the fans are going to be into it. He finishes off what is, what I think, a great lineup. It was important for Pete to be part of that lineup.”

As it turns out, the meeting with Alonso, which was held in Tampa, was Cohen’s idea.

“Well it was my idea, and I just felt the negotiation had gone on so long, I just wanted to make sure he heard from us. How we felt about him. It’s hard to know when everything is done through third parties. Certainly, in a long negotiation you want to make sure he’s feeling good about coming back to the Mets. We wanted him to come back to the Mets. I like to personalize things. I just felt like he deserved that respect. He’s been a great Met for a long time, he’s a fan favorite. I thought there was a real opportunity to sit down with him and kind of hash it out.”

“Pete did all the talking! Scott Boras didn’t say a word the whole time! Pete had a lot to say. He clearly expressed his desire to come back. We expressed our desire to have him come back. We walked out of there feeling really good and I was glad we connected that way and I think it mattered.”

The aforementioned option is included in the contract. If Alonso opts after the season, the Mets will have to do the whole thing all over again.

“I hope Pete has a tremendous season. That’ll be great for the Mets. Certainly, great for him. Hopefully, that means we can figure out a way to extend the arraignment. We’ll worry about it when we worry about it. But right now, we’re focused on the ’25 season.”

Signing Juan Soto

The biggest acquisition by the Mets this offseason was the signing of Juan Soto. New York and Soto agreed on a 15-year contract worth around $765 million. Soto now joins a lineup featuring Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos, adding a jolt of power. Cohen went through that period, including the last few hours before the deal was finalized.

“I got a call from Scott (Boras) late in the afternoon on that Sunday saying be ready that there may be an opportunity to put myself right in the middle of the mix for Juan. There were a lot of ups and downs during the negotiations, with multiple meetings. I walked out of the second meeting with Juan and Scott, thinking oh boy, there’s no way that we’re going to land this player. I just didn’t get a positive feeling. When I got that call Sunday, I was like, wow, that’s great. We actually may have a shot. Didn’t know if it was a realistic shot but we were certainly still in the game.”

“I went to dinner in Fort Lauderdale with a friend of mine. Ordering food and drinks and going out in the lobby to have conversations with Scott. Came in the first time after speaking to Scott, I said no way we’re getting the player we’re just too far apart. Then all of a sudden, it was like, wow, we’re $5 million apart? Scott came down, I actually changed my bid, slightly. We got there and still didn’t know for sure if we were going to get him. We worked it out. I’m thrilled to death to have Juan Soto playing for the Mets for a very long time.”

Francisco Lindor

Francisco Lindor now enters his fifth season as a member of the Mets. Since then, especially over the past three years, Lindor has proven to be an incredible player on and off the field. The Mets haven’t had this brand of leadership since the days of David Wright. Cohen talked about what Lindor brings and what makes him so special.

“I mean, Francisco is a phenomenal player on both sides: defense and offense. He’s become a leader, a real leader in the clubhouse. I really enjoy him. I love the way he plays. I love the way he enjoys playing and the joy he shows in going out there every day. He posts every day. He wants to play every game. We’re lucky to have him. He’s phenomenal.”

David Stearns And The Pitching 

For the second consecutive season, general manager David Stearns is looking for good production out of a pitching staff from guys he is taking a chance on. No high-end starter was signed, but high-risk, high-reward deals were made. Such as the signings of Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes. Stearns hopes he can get the same kind of production out of them that he got from Sean Manaea and Luis Severino last year. This offseason, he re-signed Manaea and Ryne Stanek and brought A.J. Minter to the bullpen. Cohen went in on the mindset he and Stearns have on the subject.

“He’s just good at building a staff and looking for the right type of players who’ve had success in the past. Maybe had a down season—hopefully, the opportunity to bounce back. I think the team has done a really great job beginning with the coaches. Pitchers want to pitch for us because we’re developing a reputation for taking what a pitcher has and improving them. That’s always been one of my goals in the organization is to be able to develop players and improve them. Developing their reputation means that players will want to come to us and play for us.”

“Each situation is unique, and each situation is a little bit different. I think because of how we go about improving pitching performance and pitchers in general, that we can take pitchers other teams may not be particular interested in and we’ll see something that we think we can improve on.” 

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