New York Mets owner Steve Cohen speaks during a news conference Wednesday in New York. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
NEW YORK — Mets owner Steven Cohen threatened his underperforming team with the prospect of a trade deadline sell-off unless New York gets back into contention for a playoff berth, while promising job security through the season’s end to Manager Buck Showalter and General Manager Billy Eppler.
“All is not lost yet, but it’s getting late,” Cohen said during a news conference Wednesday with the Mets in fourth place in the NL East. “I’m preparing my management team for all possibilities. If we don’t get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline, and that’s not my preferred end result but I’m preparing all contingencies.
“And we’ll see where it goes. It’s on the players, right? They’re veterans. They’ve been there before. These are players who have done it, and we’ll see if they can get their act together and string together some wins. I can’t pitch and I can’t hit. That’s the way it goes.”
New York currently projects to a $360 million payroll and is on track for a record luxury tax of about $99 million. The Mets are shattering the previous payroll high for $291 million set by the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers, who set a tax record that year at $43.6 million.
And yet, the Mets began Wednesday 36-43 after losing seven of their previous 10 games and 16 of 22. They were 16 1/2 games back of first-place Atlanta and 8 1/2 games out of the last NL wild-card berth. Their 4.58 ERA is 25th among the 30 teams.
In stark contrast to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner’s behavior in the 1970s and 1980s, Cohen promised stable team management.
“I’m a patient guy, OK?” the 67-year-old hedge fund billionaire said. “Now, everybody wants a headline. Everybody says: Fire this person, fire that person. But I don’t see that as a way to operate.
“If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be impulsive, OK, and win the headline for the day. … You’re not attracting the best talent. You’re not going to want to work for somebody who has a short fuse. Listen, I know fans, they want something to happen. I get it. But sometimes, you can’t do it because you have long-term objectives.”
This year’s trade deadline is Aug. 1.
YANKEES: Outfielder Aaron Judge played catch before Wednesday’s game at Oakland in the AL MVP’s first baseball activity since tearing a ligament in his right big toe on June 3.
“There’s a lot of steps we’ve got to take to get back to going on the field,” Judge said. “So this is just another step along the way.”
Judge was injured when he slammed into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium while making a catch.
GUARDIANS: Manager Terry Francona will not be with the team for a second straight game after being hospitalized when he became lightheaded before a series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Francona, who has had significant health issues in recent years, spent Tuesday night at The University of Kansas Health System and was released Wednesday. The team said tests on the 64-year-old Francona all “came back within normal ranges.”
Doctors have advised Francona to rest for the next few days. The team said his status will be determined daily.
BREWERS: The Milwaukee Brewers sent right-handed reliever Peter Strzelecki to Triple-A Nashville and promoted left-hander Thomas Pannone.
PIRATES: Ke’Bryan Hayes was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Pittsburgh Pirates because of inflammation in his lower back.
The move was made retroactive to June 25. The third baseman had missed two games after last playing in a 4-3 loss to Miami on Saturday. Hayes dealt with back issues prior to the four-game series against the Marlins, Manager Derek Shelton said.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
BRAVES 3, TWINS 2: Matt Olson homered late and doubled in an early run and Atlanta won its fifth straight game, beating visiting Minnesota.
Atlanta has won 21 of 25 to improve to a National League-leading 53-27. Kolby Allard, Kirby Yates, A.J. Minter, Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias combined on the four-hitter with 14 strikeouts.
NATIONALS 4, MARINERS 1: Patrick Corbin tossed seven shutout innings, Washington jumped on Seattle starter Logan Gilbert for three first-inning runs, and the visiting Nationals won another series.
The Nationals took 2 of 3 against the Mariners after doing the same in San Diego last weekend.
BLUE JAYS 6, GIANTS 1: George Springer hit the first of four Toronto doubles in a five-run first inning as the Blue Jays stopped the Giants’ 10-game road winning streak.
Giants right fielder Michael Conforto left after one inning because of a tight left hamstring. He is hitting .236 with a team-high 12 homers and 42 RBI after signing a $36 million, two-year contract as a free agent.
PIRATES 7, PADRES 1: Mitch Keller allowed one run in six innings and Pittsburgh scored five times in the seventh to rout visiting San Diego.
Keller (9-3) gave up four hits and had five strikeouts and two walks. The right-hander has surrendered one run in three of his four starts since allowing 15 across his previous three.
BREWERS 7, METS 2: Christian Yelich had three hits and two RBI, leading visiting Milwaukee over New York, hours after Mets owner Steve Cohen held a press conference in which he preached patience but said his struggling team is running out of time to get back into the playoff race.
RANGERS 10, TIGERS 2: Dane Dunning threw shutout ball for a career-high 8 2/3 innings, Adolis Garcia homered for the third consecutive game and Texas beat visiting Detroit.
Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran also each had solo home runs and RBI singles.
ASTROS 10, CARDINALS 7: Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning as visiting Houston rallied to beat St. Louis.
Jose Abreu added a two-run homer for Houston, which had lost three of its previous four games. The Astros overcame a 7-5 deficit in the eighth.
GUARDIANS 14, ROYALS 1: José Ramírez hit his fifth career grand slam and visiting Cleveland beat Kansas City, moving into first place in the AL Central despite a losing record.
REDS 11, ORIOLES 7: Will Benson hit a go-ahead triple and TJ Friedl followed with a two-run homer in a four-run 10th inning to give Cincinnati a win at Baltimore.
The first-place Reds won 2 of 3 at Camden Yards, where they had not played since 2014.
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