According to Cohen, the Mets were in line to reunite with Steven Matz, who donned orange and blue from 2015 to 2020, going 31-41 with a 4.35 in 579 2/3 innings. However, Matz opted to sign a four year, $44 million contract with the Cardinals instead, incensing Cohen.
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Matz spent last season in Toronto and had one of the best years of his career. He went 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA while striking out 144 in 150 2/3 innings.
The Mets apparently made Matz a similar offer to the one from St. Louis, along with several other teams, before he opted to head to the Cardinals.
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In response to Cohen’s tweet, Rob Martin, Matz’s agent, put out a statement.
Martin also apparently spoke to Cohen on Wednesday morning and seemed to ease the tension and downplay any concerns of beef between the two.
The Mets have yet to make a big splash so far in free agency after losing longtime No. 2 starter Noah Syndergaard to the Angels and thus far failing to work out deals for Michael Conforto and Javier Baéz to return to Citi Field.
