3 giant Mets decisions for Steve Cohen becoming easier with each loss

3) NY Mets won’t win by pouring all of their money into Shohei Ohtani in free agency

Cohen is learning the hard way how you can’t buy a championship. The thought of buying Shohei Ohtani in the offseason to help put the Mets over the top might not be such a wise move to make with all things considered. Ohtani is a sensational player. However, as many of the big free agent signings or extensions on the Mets books, there is too much evidence to suggest it would be a wasted move on a team in need of much more.

Imagine the 2023 Mets with Carlos Correa at third base struggling so mightily and putting up such ridiculously poor numbers on a team already exhausted with overpaid players slumping through the year. If not for poor medicals, the Mets would’ve been there.

Cohen has proven he is willing to go as far as he believes is required to build a winner. The 2023 payroll exemplifies it. Next year, with Ohtani on the roster, we’d have to expect even more money loaded into the back of the pickup truck as the Mets look to buy a parade.

Where do the Mets draw the line with this imperfect strategy? They spent more than any other team in MLB history on the club this year and they’re middling. The same thing has happened to the San Diego Padres while the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays have done the exact opposite.

Does Cohen go after what will most assuredly become the largest contract in MLB history? If so, it seems like a lot of flash and sizzle without the savior taste of success.