Mets' Steve Cohen Talks 'Frustrating' 2023 Season: 'It's On the Players'

The New York Mets have been one of the most disappointing teams in MLB this season, and team owner Steve Cohen voiced his frustration for the first time on Wednesday.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Cohen called this season "incredibly frustrating" and said the onus is on the players to turn things around before changes will have to be made.

"If we don't get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline," Cohen said. "It's on the players."

At 36-43, the Mets are ranked fourth in the NL East entering Wednesday's matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers. New York has a ton of talent on its roster after acquiring players like Francisco Lindor, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in recent years, but it hasn't resulted in the success the team was hoping for.

"If you asked me would I have expected us to be in this position at the beginning of the season, the answer is no. But here we are, and hopefully we can right the ship," Cohen added. "Listen, we have quality players, for some reason or another, they're not gelling. When we pitch well, we don't hit, when we hit, we don't pitch well. It's kind of weird, it's actually very strange to me."

Cohen became controlling owner of the Mets in late 2020 after completing his purchase of the franchise, which was valued at $2.475 billion at the time. When he took over, he expressed a goal of New York winning a World Series within five years. However, he softened that stance on Wednesday.

"Winning a World Series is really hard," Cohen said.

Despite the Mets' struggles this season, Cohen said manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler "absolutely" will remain in their positions for the rest of the season. He added that he's hoping to hire a president of baseball operations to help assist with roster decisions going forward. He also said he's not giving up on the team just yet.

"The season's not over. I'm preparing my management team for all possibilities. ... I'm preparing all contingencies, and we'll see where it goes," he said.