Not every Mets fan loves Steve Cohen.
Longtime — and he’d add long-suffering — Mets fan Joe Benigno ripped the Mets owner for why Pete Alonso has not re-signed with the team and seemingly is headed elsewhere in free agency.
And he doesn’t want to hear about a certain 2026 free agent whom the Mets could target.
“Do I want Pete back? Of course. … The boy genius, (Mets president of baseball operations David) Stearns, because let’s be honest, he’s smarter than everybody in the freaking room, doesn’t want him back,” Benigno said sarcastically Thursday on WFAN. “And the guy that I blame is the owner.
“I thought Stevie Cohen had a feel for the fan base, OK. You know what they’re pulling now with this, ‘Oh, Vlad Guerrero. We’re gonna get Vlad Guerrero.’ You know what? Screw Vlad Guerrero. I want my guy.”
While the Mets seemingly have unlimited funds under Cohen, they are not opening their wallet for their homegrown talent the way they did Juan Soto.
The Mets have pivoted to Plan B — which so far includes Jesse Winker and A.J. Minter — after the sides could not agree on a long-term deal.
Alonso rejected the team’s three-year deal in the $68 million-$70 million range, far below the extension he previously nixed, and now it seems he’ll be playing elsewhere in 2025.
There’s still a chance that he could return, but the odds are against it.
Benigno said he’s “tired” of seeing his favorites depart.
“From Tom Seaver to Darryl Strawberry to Ray Knight to Kevin Mitchell to Daniel Murphy to Zack Wheeler to David Cone to Rusty Staub, I have lost every big guy that I have had on my team with the exception of David Wright,” Benigno said before mentioning previous owners that let fan favorites depart. “Now, Stevie Cohen is doing the same thing. I am beyond livid.
“I blame Cohen. To me, it’s on the owner. Cohen is supposed to have a feel for this fan base. He walks around with the Mets hat on and the whole nine yards. It’s on you, Stevie, to get this guy back to where he belongs.”
It takes two to tango, though, and it’s possible Alonso may want to move on after these negotiations fell short of his expectations.
Benigno wondered whether Alonso needs to now take the lead to unite the parties.
“Maybe it’s time for Pete to get this done, call them and get his rear end back here where he belongs,” he said.
If the Mets don’t sign Alonso, there will be plenty of speculation about the team waiting to sign Guerrero next offseason.
However, they figure to face competition and it seems like the Dodgers sign about everyone these days (yes, we know, they have Freddie Freeman, it’s a joke … right?).
For now, the Mets can possibly move Mark Vientos or sign a lesser-tier free agent to fill Alonso’s shoes.