3 NY Mets contracts Steve Cohen may have to eat part of before they run out

Steve Cohen has never been shy about spending, but even the richest owner in baseball has to know when the all-you-can-eat buffet has turned into a plate of regrets. The New York Mets have handed out plenty of contracts with big hopes attached, only to watch some of them age like milk left in the dugout sun. At some point, keeping an underperforming player around just because of the money becomes an even more expensive mistake. If the Mets want to stay serious about winning, Cohen may have to swallow hard, grab the check, and cut ties before these deals keep taking bigger bites out of the roster.

Steve Cohen may have to eat part of these Mets contracts before they expire

1) Kodai Senga

In 2023, this contract looked like a steal. Senga gave the Mets 166.1 innings with a 2.98 ERA and 202 strikeouts in year one of his five-year, $75 million deal. That feeling did not last long. Injuries limited him to one start in 2024, and after a strong start in 2025, another injury put him on the shelf for a month. When he came back, he posted a 5.90 ERA over his final nine starts and has carried those struggles into this season.

Senga owns an 8.83 ERA through 17.1 innings with 23 hits and 10 walks allowed. His four-seamer has been hit at a .292 clip with a .458 slugging percentage against it. His cutter has been hammered for a .471 average and .824 slugging percentage. With $15 million due in each of the next two years, prospects in the farm system and the trade deadline may offer the Mets a quicker solution than waiting for Senga to figure it out.

2) Sean Manaea

Sean Manaea earned this contract with how he finished 2024. Over his final 13 starts that season, he pitched to a 3.14 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .171 batting average and striking out 28% of the batters he faced. He became one of the arms that helped carry the Mets into the postseason, and that late run was enough to land him a three-year, $75 million deal.

The Mets had buyer’s remorse before Manaea even threw a pitch in 2025. A strained oblique kept him out for nearly half the season, and when he returned, the results only made things worse. In 15 appearances, including 12 starts, he pitched to a 5.64 ERA while allowing 62 hits, 12 walks, and 13 home runs. This season, he has been pushed into long relief with a 4.66 ERA over six appearances, and his fastball, dipping into the high 80s, has only added to the concern. There are only so many steps down the totem pole before there is nowhere left to move him, and Steve Cohen is left eating the rest of this deal.

3) Marcus Semien

Marcus Semien was already part of one contract shuffle before he even played a game for the Mets. The deal that sent Brandon Nimmo away was partly about years, with the Mets taking on Semien’s contract because it expires two seasons sooner. Semien is owed $26 million this year and next, then $20 million in 2028. Nimmo’s deal runs through 2030 at $20.25 million per year, so this was always about shorter-term risk.

The glove still plays, but the bat has looked like it missed the flight. Semien is hitting .228/.287/.315 with one homer, eight RBI, six runs scored this season. The 29-homer, 100-RBI version feels long gone, and at age 35, the next decline may not stop at the plate. With prospects like AJ Ewing getting closer, Steve Cohen may eventually have to eat part of this contract, too, before Semien’s locker gets cleaned out in 2028.

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