Steve Cohen explains away deleted tweet with unearned confidence

Sitting at 19-23 and in fourth place in the National League East, the New York Mets are losing ground in the divisional standings with each passing day, leading many to believe the team could be sellers ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline on July 30.

Mets owner Steve Cohen only added fuel to the fire on Wednesday night, posting a since-deleted tweet during New York's 10-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies that suggests a fire sale could be on the horizon if things don't change quickly.

While Cohen removed the post, he didn't do it fast enough. By then, enough people had seen it and captured screenshots. So, he had to clean up his mess by explaining himself to SNY's MLB insider, Andy Martino. However, it did little to quell concerns about the club's rest-of-season outlook.

Steve Cohen explains away deleted Tweet with unearned confidence

Cohen informed Martino that he intended to send his tweet as a direct message, something he claims to occasionally do when interacting on X (formerly known as Twitter). But more notably, he downplayed the idea that he was implying the Mets would become sellers leading up to the deadline.

“I believe in this team. “I believe in the back of the baseball card. It’s way too early to speculate on anything. It’s May 16," Cohen told Martino. "I expect to make the playoffs. I know the fan base is frustrated, but it’s still early. We’re still very capable of making the playoffs. I fully expect to make the playoffs,” he added.

It is hard to paint an optimistic picture of a team four games below .500 with the highest payroll in baseball. But in reality, the Mets are only one game out of the third Wild Card spot in the NL, so maybe Cohen is onto something. 

Martino compares the current situation in New York to the 2021 campaign based on his conversation with Cohen, "when the front office felt a commitment to the fans and clubhouse," implying they could be deadline buyers. But is investing more into this iteration of a roster that continues to disappoint worth attempting to salvage this year?