Mets Owner Steve Cohen: Shohei Ohtani's 'Agent Never Reached Out to Me' amid Rumors

Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday, ending a months-long saga about where the two-way phenom would sign for the next stage of his career.

Many thought the New York Mets could be that destination, especially given Mets owner Steve Cohen's track record of paying a premium for star players. The team reportedly never made an offer to Ohtani, and Cohen said that Ohtani's side did not communicate with the Mets.

"The agent never reached out to me personally," Cohen said, per Will Sammon of The Athletic, "and I think that's pretty telling."

Ohtani chose to remain in Los Angeles, albeit with a different franchise, and he was always rumored to prefer to remain on the West Coast. He also stated a desire to contend for championships, and recent history has shown that the Mets are a bit away from contention.

The Mets have qualified for the postseason just once in the past seven seasons. That came in 2022 when New York fell to the San Diego Padres in three games in the Wild Card round.

2023 was a failure for the franchise as the Mets went 75-87 despite possessing the highest payroll in MLB. Ohtani would certainly help the team's chances at taking that next step, but he instead joins a Dodgers team that has made the playoffs in 11 consecutive season and won 10 division titles and a World Series title during that stretch.

Ohtani is the first big fish to get caught in this free agency cycle but the Mets still have plenty of chances to make improvements. New York is heavily linked to Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with Cohen and president of baseball operations David Stearns notably meeting with him in Japan last week.