Steve Cohen and the New York Mets had an active offseason.
So the Mets owner opened up about trying to land Kyle Tucker and much more during his preseason media address at spring training in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The Mets, of course, landed some marquee free agents in Bo Bichette, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. But they also made an aggressive push to re-sign closer Edwin Diaz and were finalists for Tucker, the former Chicago Cubs outfielder who signed a four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last month.
The Mets went 83-79 in 2025 and are trying to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2024, when they fell to the Dodgers in the NLCS in six games.
Steve Cohen Felt The Mets Had ‘a Real Shot’ to Land Kyle Tucker
Cohen is entering his sixth season as Mets owner, and he has convinced superstar-caliber players like Bichette and Juan Soto to ink long-term deals in Queens in free agency.
Cohen thought he and the team had a great shot of landing Tucker as well.
“I wasn’t sure,” Cohen said Monday. “I had a great Zoom with him. I felt like we had a real shot.”
When he found out Tucker was going to the Dodgers, Cohen’s frustration boiled over.
“I actually went to bed annoyed,” Cohen said. “I was like ‘ah, we didn’t get him.’”
Cohen, who aside from landing marquee free agents has been heavily involved in attracting players to Flushing, once again saw the uncertainty of free agency play out with Tucker.
“You never know in free agency,” Cohen said. “You just never know how it’s going to go. It’s a personal decision. All you can do is go after the best people you can, and if it doesn’t work you have alternatives.”
Kyle Tucker Signing With the Dodgers Caused Bo Bichette to Sign With the Mets
Ironically, the Mets ended up signing Bichette before Tucker officially inked his deal with the Dodgers — even though Cohen’s negotiations with the now-former Toronto Blue Jays infielder took place as a consequence of Tucker’s decision.
“When the news came down on [Tucker], literally the body was still warm and we were getting calls from agents,” Cohen said. “The agent for Bo called us right after, and discussions started and they moved really quickly.”
The Mets had been engaged with Bichette’s team even though they were striving hard to convince Tucker. New York announced its three-year, $126 million contract for Bichette on Jan. 20, a day before the Dodgers announced their deal with Tucker.
Having a multi-tiered strategy once again paid off, since Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns and the team’s front office landed a powerful infield bat after missing out on the top free agent on the market.
“I describe it as throwing a lot of lines in the sea and see what catches,” Cohen said. “You have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, but that’s part of trying to build a team. You never know who is going to sign with you. All you can do is have alternatives.”
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