Sure sounds like Steve Cohen's Juan Soto obsession is coming back to haunt the Mets

As the Wilpon years came to a close, incoming Mets owner Steve Cohen took the reigns with the hopes of delivering a championship to Queens in a matter of three to five years. By June of 2024, those words had aged like milk. It appeared as though the richest owner in baseball was failing build a championship ball club. That’s when the Grimace swooped in to save the Mets’ season, at least supposedly.

Whether Grimace magic really helped or not, the Mets would make it to the NLCS before their World Series dreams were ultimately dashed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Emboldened by that postseason run, Cohen is now in hot pursuit of this winter's top target in Juan Soto, and it appears he doesn’t care what it takes to bring him to Queens. The billionaire hedge fund manager has promised to top any offer by a whopping $50 million. But with an iron will and an endless bank account, Cohen might be missing out on a prime opportunity to add a bona fide ace to his rotation.

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The Mets haven’t yet shown serious interest in Corbin Burnes

Jon Heyman reports that the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles have shown interest in free agent stud Corbin Burnes. What’s even more noticeable than the teams in pursuit of Burnes is that the Mets are not.

The Mets’ pitching staff was a source of ample trouble for them in 2024. The Mets finished the year ranked 15th in team ERA with a 3.96. Kodai Senga, who missed all but one game, will be back next season. However, this past season’s most reliable Mets starters likely won’t: Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea are free agents, while Luis Severino has just signed with the Athletics. That trio are the only three pitchers who threw a qualifying number of innings for the Mets in 2024 and did it with ERAs under 4.00. To add some rotational depth, the Mets have recently signed Frankie Montas, who pitched to a 4.84 ERA this past season, but the righty is a reclamation project at best.

Making matters worse is that Heyman said the Yankees could sign both Burnes and Soto. If anything, that should light a fire under Cohen (who is, as stated before, the richest owner in MLB) to at least take an interest in the top hurler on the market.

Even if the Mets are able to land Soto, their pitching staff still represents a substantial vulnerability. If Cohen were to ink Burnes, this would do a lot to make the Mets a true postseason threat even without Soto. In 2024, Burnes threw to a 2.92 ERA. He has been an annual Cy Young contender for each of the past five seasons, winning the coveted award in 2021 with a 2.43 ERA. Adding him would bring the Mets a true ace to pair with Senga at the top of the rotation, and the fact that New York isn't even interested signals where their priorities lie right now.