Steve Cohen Calls Out Mets' Players, New York’s Playoff Chances Dwindle

The New York Mets are falling further out of the playoff race, and owner Steve Cohen is letting everyone know just how he feels about the team’s underwhelming performance. Hours after the Mets suffered their fifth straight loss, Cohen called out New York’s lineup on Twitter.

“It’s hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive,” Cohen tweeted. “The best teams have a more disciplined approach. The slugging and OPS numbers don’t lie.”

Cohen sarcastically responded to a tweet that criticized his statement on the Mets’ woes. The first-year owner has been active on social media throughout the season. A large portion of his posts have been positive, and he hasn’t been shy about subtweeting the team’s detractors.

It was certainly easier for Cohen to be optimistic about the Mets’ chances from April through July. New York spent much of that time atop the NL East, despite a rash of injuries.

The Mets’ health woes and offensive struggles have finally caught up to them. Following Tuesday’s 3-2 road loss against the San Francisco Giants, New York is in third place and 4.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves. The Mets are 6.5 games out of the NL wild-card race.

For the first time since early May, the Mets are under .500. New York has a 5-14 record over its last 19 games.

FanGraphs estimates that the Mets only have a 10.3% chance to make the playoffs.

Only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers, who own two of MLB’s four-worst records, have scored fewer runs than the Mets. New York ranks 12th among the 15 NL teams in batting average (.235), on-base percentage (.313) and slugging percentage (.383). Over the last month, the Mets are second-to-last with a .678 OPS.

The Mets fired hitting coach Chili Davis after the first month of the season. The lineup hasn’t gotten any better.

Pete Alonso has been the only consistent presence in the Mets’ lineup. The first baseman is hitting .250/.333/.495 with 26 home runs and 69 RBI. No other Met has more than 14 homers or 52 RBI.

J.D. Davis leads the team with an .884 OPS, but he has been limited to 45 games because of injuries. Francisco Lindor and trade deadline acquisition Javy Baez are both on the injured list.

Jacob deGrom, once the heavy NL Cy Young favorite while going 12-33 at the plate, remains out indefinitely.

Cohen officially purchased the Mets in November for $2.4 billion. Baseball’s richest owner, Cohen increased New York’s payroll to nearly $198 million, which ranks third in MLB, according to Spotrac. The hedge fund manager approved a $341 million extension for Lindor and handed out a league-high $509 million in offseason contracts.

Unless things turn around soon, all of that money won’t be enough to get the Mets back to the playoffs for the first time in five years.