Steve Cohen isn’t worried yet.
The Mets are winless in four tries and wet weather has postponed their last two games, but the club’s owner and CEO isn’t ready to make any calls on the season just yet. Cohen went on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday morning to talk about everything from the Mets to AI in the workplace and a four-day workweek. But when it came to the produce on the field, the hedge fund billionaire had a measured response when asked what he thinks about the start to the 2024 season.
“It’s only four games into the season, right? Nobody wants to start 0-4, but you know, it’s early,” Cohen told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “During the season, you’re going to have losing streaks. We just happen to have one at the beginning.”
The Mets were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the season-opening series over the weekend at Citi Field and lost in the first game of a three-game set to the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Cohen, the founder of Point72 Asset Management, echoed some of the same sentiments on CNBC that he has over the last few years of ownership. He told Sorkin that he wants to build a deep farm system that will help keep the team at the top of the standings each year. He reiterated his comments from his opening press conference when he said he considers owning the Mets to be a “civic responsibility.”
Cohen also said he enjoys the public-facing role of being an owner, something that has surprised him over the last few years.
“I actually enjoy it,” he said. “I enjoy interacting with the fans and doing the press conferences. It’s just a stretch for me. It’s something different.”
Cohen acknowledged that small market teams aren’t crazy about large market teams like the Mets outspending the field, but said he doesn’t care about the cost. To him, the cost is worth it if they can build a winning product.
He also attempted to dispel the notion that he calls the shots in baseball operations.
“People think I’m making the decisions. I’m not making the decisions — my baseball people are making the decisions,” Cohen said. “My job is when they need me to support their decisions. When they come to me and say, ‘Hey this is what I want to do,’ I’ve never said no to anything. I mean, we have discussions, but those ideas are not coming from me, which is totally different than running my hedge fund.
“My hedge fund, I’m more involved. But frankly, we have over 200 portfolio managers. I’m not telling them what to do either.”
