A couple of organizations, most notably the Giants and Blue Jays, were reduced to laughing stock after Shohei Ohtani’s surprise signing with the Dodgers. The Giants were reported to have made Ohtani the exact same offer as the Dodgers, and god knows Blue Jays fans were led astray in one of the most tragic journalistic blunders in recent memory, even though their team most likely made a competitive bid for Ohtani. So, it wasn’t necessarily the fault of these teams or their front offices.

At one point, the Mets were also thought to have a stake in the outcome, but by then, their luster had gone. They have some egg on their faces from the whole Ohtani affair, even if their turn for humiliation would come quickly when Yoshinobu Yamamoto manipulated them to drive up his price and then promptly signed with the Dodgers.

It appears that the Mets were never a serious contender for Ohtani when Mets owner Steve Cohen informed Will Sammon of The Athletic (subscription needed) that Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, never made direct contact with him.

Before the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani, his representative never contacted Steve Cohen or the Mets.

Some of the odd behavior displayed by the Mets in their pursuit of Yamamoto—such as trying to justify skipping games with Ohtani as an upside—becomes a little more understandable in light of this new information. They were obviously humiliated that they could not even receive a courtesy call from the biggest free agent of the decade, especially with the amount of money they are ready to spend on their players and the buzz surrounding Ohtani’s free agency making them appear like serious competitors.

Like the Giants, the Mets are puppets and stepping stones in the race to become Los Angeles, the ultimate destination for free agents. While the Mets aren’t entirely to blame, is it? Exоrbitant spending hasn’t worked for Cohen, and he’s acknowledged publicly that 2024 will be a transitional year for the team, which won’t exactly fill free agents with optimism if they decide to join the team in that year. Their track record is still erratic and may be too inconsistent for free agents to take.

There’s more than a little satisfaction in knowing that the Dodgers can spend significantly and still win games, rather than only the former, even though other teams have humiliated themselves before and this isn’t the last time it’s happened. Think for yourself!