Hey, it's Zack.
Let me start with a number.
$336 million.
That is the New York Mets adjusted payroll. The second highest in all of baseball. And yet through the first two months of the season they have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball.
This is not a new story for Mets fans. It is a pattern.
THE ENTRANCE
Steve Cohen took over the Mets in 2020 with a clear mission. He was going to spend whatever it took to win. And spend he has. The Mets have consistently been one of the top three spenders in baseball every single season under Cohen. They signed Francisco Lindor to a ten year $341 million extension. They landed Juan Soto on a fifteen year $765 million deal. The largest contract in professional sports history.
And yet here they are.
This offseason David Stearns made the decision to blow up the roster. He stated publicly he was not going to run it back. Veterans were moved out. New faces came in. The roster was rebuilt around a new identity. On paper the moves made sense. The lineup entered the season with 16 combined All-Star appearances and 13 combined Silver Slugger awards.
On paper.
The problem with paper is that baseball is not played on paper. It is played by human beings with injury histories, mental states and chemistry that no spreadsheet has ever been able to measure.
There is a story that has resurfaced recently that tells you a lot about this organization. During contract negotiations in 2024 Pete Alonso made it clear to the front office that he felt his value went beyond what any formula could measure. The Mets never made him an offer to stay. He signed a five year deal with Baltimore and left as the franchise all time home run leader. The stated reason was the Mets were focused on run prevention and defense. Alonso was considered offense first without enough defensive value to justify his contract demands. They replaced him at first base with Jorge Polanco. A player who had made one appearance at first base in his entire professional career before arriving in New York.
Brandon Nimmo had been a Met since 2011. Fifteen years in the organization. The longest tenured player on the roster. He had a full no trade clause. Stearns stated the move was about improving defense and shortening contract commitments. Nimmo would later say he approved the trade because Texas wanted him more than New York did.
Jeff McNeil was a two time All-Star who had thrived in New York for years. Once Semien came in McNeil had no natural position on the roster. He was traded to the Athletics for a minor league pitcher. Edwin Diaz one of the most electric closers in baseball and a fan favorite was allowed to walk to the Dodgers in free agency. Devin Williams was brought in as his replacement.
In one offseason the Mets moved on from four players who had proven they could handle New York. The pressure. The media. The expectations. All four were replaced by players who had never proven they could handle this market.
The reports that emerged after the 2025 season painted a complicated picture inside that clubhouse. Confrontations between two star players during a losing streak were confirmed by multiple sources. Questions about who was the team leader. The manager himself called it a corporate clubhouse in the offseason. The organization tried to play it all down. But when a front office moves on from four veterans who had been the face of the franchise in one offseason, the actions speak louder than words. David Stearns said he tidied up the house.
THE DELIVERY
I have been in these types of clubhouses. Arguments happen. Between players, coaches and the front office. It is all part of a long season. When you are winning those conflicts stay behind closed doors. When you are losing they can fracture a clubhouse fast.
Let me give you a few angles on this because it is not black and white.
First. The roster construction has been a problem.
Luis Robert Jr. came in with a significant injury history. Jorge Polanco had injury concerns. Marcus Semien was brought in as part of a trade that cleared another contract. Bo Bichette was signed to help the lineup. On paper every move had a logic to it.
But when you build a roster around players with injury concerns and hope they stay healthy you are betting on luck. And luck is not a strategy. Almost every key addition has either underperformed or spent time on the injured list. The roster was constructed with little depth and it showed the moment things started going wrong.
Second. The chemistry issue is real and it is hard to quantify.
I have been in clubhouses where the talent was there but the team was not. It is a real thing. Chemistry is not a soft concept. It is the difference between a group of players and a team. When you clear out a clubhouse and bring in a collection of new faces you are starting from zero. That takes time. And in New York with a $370 million payroll and expectations through the roof there is no time.
Third. I cannot see how anyone can blame Carlos Mendoza.
Mendoza has handled an impossible situation with professionalism and class. Two other managers got fired this season for teams performing better than the Mets. Mendoza has not been perfect. No manager is. But you cannot coach your way out of a poorly constructed roster. We saw that with Alex Cora in Boston. The pattern is the same. When things go wrong the manager becomes the easiest target.
But the manager does not choose the players. The manager does not decide who to sign or who to trade. He works with what he is given. And what Mendoza was given in 2026 has not been good enough.
The accountability question in New York is a real one. Steve Cohen has been public about wanting to win. He has spent to prove it. But at some point the accountability has to go beyond the players and the manager. The people building the roster have to answer for what they built.
THE SAVE
This is what it comes down to for me.
That decision. That dynamic. That is the Mets in a nutshell. You let your franchise all time home run leader walk without making him an offer. You trade the longest tenured player on your roster to a team that wanted him more than you did. You move on from proven players who knew how to perform in the hardest market in baseball. Then you replace them with players who have never been tested or have failed to prove they can perform there.
New York is one of the hardest cities in the world to play in. The pressure. The media. The expectations. Players who learn to thrive there are worth more than any spreadsheet can calculate. That is not an analytical insight. That is a human one.
Spending money is the easy part. Steve Cohen can write the checks. That has never been the question in New York. The question has always been whether the people spending that money are building something real or just assembling a collection of names.
There is a difference between a roster and a team. A roster is a list of players. A team is a culture. A standard. A group of people who hold each other accountable and push each other to be better every single day regardless of what their contract says. Yes, that can create conflict at times, but you don't blow up a roster because people are being held accountable by their teammates.
The most successful organizations in baseball understand this. The Dodgers do not just spend money. They build. They develop. They create an environment where players want to be and where the standard is set from the top down. That is why they keep winning regardless of who gets hurt or who leaves.
The Mets have spent like the Dodgers for years now. They have not built like them. And until that changes the payroll number will keep going up and the results will keep disappointing one of the most passionate fan bases in baseball.
Mets fans deserve better. They always have.
Talk soon, Z
The Save is a personal newsletter based on my own experiences, opinions, and recollections. The opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not represent any team, organization, union or employer past or present. When discussing players, contracts or organizational decisions I am sharing my perspective as a former player — not making legal or financial claims. When I share stories involving others I am telling them from my point of view. When I share tips or lessons I am sharing what worked for me. Always do your own research and consult professionals when making important decisions.