Steve Cohen says there’ll never be a captain while he owns Mets

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The New York Mets aren’t going to name a team captain anytime soon.

Owner Steve Cohen said Monday he will never name a captain as long as he’s in charge, ceasing speculation that the franchise would one day grant Francisco Lindor the title.

“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain,” Cohen said before the Mets’ first full-squad workout of the spring. “That was my decision. My view is the locker room is unique. Let the locker room sort it out year in, year out.”

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There have been four official captains in Mets history. Keith Hernandez was first given the designation in 1987. Gary Carter, John Franco and David Wright followed, with the position vacant since Wright retired in 2018.

Lindor was widely considered the next in line for the designation. Wright supported the notion and the organization even published a one-minute video last July chronicling Mets captains that included Lindor ahead of Wright’s retirement ceremony before deleting it.

Cohen, however, said Monday that he has always believed naming a captain was unnecessary since he purchased the Mets in November 2020.

“My view is every year the team’s different and let the team kind of figure it out in the locker room without having the designation,” Cohen said. “Actually, having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often. It’s actually unusual. So whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things and I look at things differently.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza on Monday said he does not believe he needs to speak to Lindor about the decision, insisting that the organization has remained consistent on the subject and seeks multiple leaders every year.

“I just want him to be himself,” Mendoza said. “I think if anything it’s making sure you play shortstop for the New York Mets. That’s his job. It’s on me and our coaches to take a lot off his plate. I don’t want him to do too much.”

One other aspect Cohen aspires to deviate from previous ownership is winning at the highest level consistently. Upon buying the team, he said he would consider not winning the franchise’s first World Series title since 1986 in three to five years to be “disappointing.”

He now enters his sixth year as owner without a championship. The closest the Mets have gotten is a National League Championship Series appearance in 2024 despite ranking among the top two teams in payroll every season.

“I’m annoyed. I’m absolutely annoyed,” Cohen said. “Every year that goes by, I get frustrated. I’m really committed to this team. And I know how much the fans care. I know we’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of 1986 and that’s just too long.

“There’s a lot of great teams out there. No matter what you do it doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to win the World Series. But I just want to put myself in position every year in the playoffs where we have a chance with a really good team.”

The Mets front office decided giving the organization the best chance to reach the summit required a drastic offseason overhaul after the team flopped in 2025, missing the postseason on the last day of the regular season with an 83-79 record.

The franchise’s four longest-tenured players — Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Edwin Diaz — all ended up on other teams. They were replaced, in part, by Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. while All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers to bolster a starting rotation that floundered over the second half.

“These are players that sort of grew up in my ownership and I got to know personally,” Cohen said of Nimmo, Alonso, McNeil and Diaz. “So, from a personal standpoint, it’s tough to say goodbye. And when one door closes, one door opens. So I’m excited about the possibilities here. I’m excited about the energy. I’m excited by the quality of the players that we acquired and I know Met fans are going to be excited with the type of players they’re going to see this year.”