Full Transcript: Steve Cohen Media Talk on David Stearns, Andy Green, Too Much Risk - 8/19/26

 

Steve Cohen

Link to Video Interview.

Steve Gelbs, SNY.TV:  Steve, just in general, what have you made about this recent stretch post-deadline for the group? 

Steve Cohen: Yeah, listen, it's fun to see. I mean, watching some of these younger players come up and they've worked hard in their career and they're starting to demonstrate they're pretty good at what they do too.  And I think it's fun for the fans, right? I mean, winning's better than losing, generally. And so I think it's creating a little excitement and hopefully it'll carry through to the end of the year and give us good feelings into next year.

Steve Gelbs, SNY.TV:  Understanding that it is a small sample size, has it in any way shifted your perspective on how close or how far away you may be to where you want to go next year?

Steve Cohen: Well, listen, this year wasn't great, right? And so, yes, it is a small sample. But, you know, underneath, I think there's a lot of things to kind of be excited by. The development of our young players is significant. That creates a nice foundation for next year. It'd be great if we can get Soto and Lindor on the field at the same time, right? That'd be kind of fun to see, you know, and have them play a full season together. That's obviously impactful. And having Francisco back, you can see the energy that comes back and, you know, what a great player he is. And I think, you know, getting him on the field really matters. You know, a lot of players, we've had new players and they've adjusted to New York. And you can imagine them feeling much more comfortable next year. And so I think there's a lot to look forward to here. I see the foundation of something that I think we can get behind. But, you know, we'll see how it goes, right? But I'm getting more optimistic. I like what I see. And hopefully it continues. 

Question: Steve, what goes into your commitment to David in the front office right now? 

Steve Cohen: Listen, I'm committed to David. I've said that before. And, you know, we're going to move forward. And I thought we had a great trade deadline.  And, you know, listen, David is smart.  He knows what he's doing. He's very adaptable. He learns from mistakes. And that's what I want in a leader.

Question: What mistakes do you think you made this year? 

Steve Cohen: You know, listen, I mean, I can argue we might have taken too much risk. You know, as far as when you think about all the changes that were made. And whenever there are significant changes, sometimes it takes a while to integrate.  And so, you know, those are the things I'm looking at. And, you know, it's an example where we can do better.  

Question: Steve, as far as with David staying, what are the ways you can improve for next year?  I mean, you put a lot of money into your team so far, obviously. You need a new manager. Is there something you've identified that will make this team get back to where you want it to be? 

Steve Cohen: Listen, I think it's a process. I mean, I don't think there are any magic bullets out there. And, you know, I'm a process guy. And if you think the processes are good and repeatable processes that generally generate good results over time, I think that's all you can do.  I mean, you can't manufacture players in your farm system overnight. You know, free agency, as we see, can be dicey. And so all you can do is make the best decisions you can and then build from that.

Question:  What qualities have you identified as something that you want to see in a future manager?

Steve Cohen: Yeah, I think, you know, I want a manager that can really relate to the players. I love the idea of a manager that motivates the players. As we know, playing baseball isn't up and down, right? People have great moments and go into slumps. So how do you get the best out of your players? And I think that's pretty important. 

Question: What do you think of the job Andy Green has done, and would you consider bringing him back as manager?

Steve Cohen: Well, I'm going to take him at face value. You know, he's telling us that he wants to go back to the front office. And so we're going to do a managerial search, and if it turns out he wants to throw his hat to the ring, that would be great. 

Question: Is priority managing experience a prerequisite?

Steve Cohen: Is it a prerequisite? You know, I'm going to leave that to David. You know, that's a little bit in the weeds for me. I mean, what I really think, I think we'll see quality candidates, and then we can figure out what to do next.

Question: When you say David maybe took too much risk, are you talking about coaching staff, players? 

Steve Cohen: I just think when you add, you know, when you add new players, when you add a coaching staff, when, you know, there was a, you know, maybe adding players with an injury history, you know, when you add risk upon risk upon risk, you know, one risk alone, you know, but when you add enough risk to something, all of a sudden you can have a dispersion of results. Now, it doesn't mean that it had to turn out bad. It just means that you have dispersion of results, and maybe the possibility of a, you know, undesirable result is more of a possibility because of the risk you're taking.  I equate it to running a portfolio. The more risk you take in a portfolio, yeah, you can have major upside, but also your downside can be bigger, and so you can have bigger variance in results.  I think that's what happened here.

Question: In terms of the coaching staff, do you think maybe he did too much too soon there?

Steve Cohen: I don't see it as a question of too much, you know, coaching staff. I just think, I look at it as in the hole, and when I look at it in a hole, I see, you know, decisions, that individual decisions that are, you know, make perfect sense, but when you add it all up, then you get into a different realm of, did we take too much risk, okay? So it's kind of looking at it from a top-down perspective as opposed to an individual decision. 

Question: With the amount of money that you've put in, Steve, and the return you've got on the investment this year, does it change how you think about... has it changed at all about what you think on how to build a team as far as spending, spending, spending? Yeah. Like, would you think of maybe, hey, listen, we have to look at other areas to make this team better as opposed to me just writing some big checks to get the best plans? 

Steve Cohen: Well, what are the areas to make the team better? Farm system, trades, staff, and free agency.  I mean, free agency is a negative expected value game, okay?  It just is. And so if you've got to constantly dip into free agency and you do it enough, you know, that can come back to bite you.  And so I've always said the goal is to create a sustainable farm system that's producing players like we did this year.  We've produced, you know, multiple players that are going to be around for a while here.  And I think that that's how you build a team. I know the fans like it, right? So I think, you know, that would be my preference.  But, listen, if you have to fill in holes, you have to fill in holes, too. So you've got to be tactical. But, you know, every time you dip into free agency, you just know that that's a tough place to be.

Question: How much has the uncertainty labor-wise affected your ability to make this team better, you think, next year, just not knowing the system you could be operating in?

Steve Cohen: I don't think a lot is going to change next year. Okay? I mean, I don't know how these talks are going to go. But there's a window before December 1st to, you know, make decisions and move our team forward. And if we get the opportunity to do it, we're going to do it. 

Question: What did you like about the trade deadline that you mentioned right here? Just what are some of the best parts of your idea?

Steve Cohen: Well, I mean, I don't know the players, right? But I'm just looking at the results like you're looking at the results, right? I mean, they look pretty good, right? Now it's over a short period of time. But, you know, when you look and see the value we got back, lots of different types of players, which is kind of fun. And it's a great infusion of young talent in our system. And I'm hoping that that works out. 

Question: Steve, how do you square, like, having that good process but also coming up with it?

Steve Cohen: Well, you know, I think the front office is really robust in their processes. And I think there are opportunities to tweak, to do tweaks to improve that. And so you can have strong – you can always improve process. And that may be an area that we can look at.

Question: You've mentioned a couple times, like, watching guys have to get used to playing in New York. Have you talked to anyone or had any conclusions about, like, ways you can make that easier?

Steve Cohen: Well, maybe if you guys weren't around, that would help. It's a joke, guys...I don't know if that's a joke. All right. I mean, it's more than that.  You know, it's – you know, there's a – it's not easy to come to New York, you know, with a big media presence and lots of eyes on you. It's not easy to change themes in general, let alone – and so, you know, you have to expect some adjustment process. It's not true with everybody, but we've seen it more.  We've seen it a lot. And that's just part of the gig. I mean, unfortunately, I don't know how to short-circuit that.

Question: In the same vein, as you consistently dig into these processes, is there anything that you've uncovered that can at least predict better who may be suited to handle the pressure here that is so different than so many places? 

Steve Cohen: Yeah. Listen, I think we do extensive due diligence, and we try to get to know the player as well as we can. But that's a hard one, right?  I mean, especially if you get off to a rough start here.  I mean, that's just – it takes a little bit of time to adjust.  And they do adjust.  I mean, most players do, and they're professionals.  But, I mean, it's – you do as much work as you can to figure out, you know, who this player is.

Question: Do you think there should be more emphasis on keeping New York proven? Are players who are proven they can play in New York and play here, if you have those players? Well, what are you saying? I'm talking about players just into New York. If you have players who are proven they can handle New York and play here, should there be more emphasis on keeping them here?

Steve Cohen: You know, I think it's – you've got to look at each situation. And, I mean, if you can eliminate a risk, and it's, you know, giving you the production that you're looking for, I mean, that's probably a good place to start. 

Question: Do you think it would be prudent to bring people on that maybe have a better vision of how to identify what those players look like? 

Steve Cohen: Well, I think we do that already, okay?  And, you know, any way that we can buttress and, you know, add support in that area, I think, you know, can add potential positive returns. And it could be a good thing. 

Question: Now, in terms of a future manager, how much authority or will he have authority over his coaching staff if he can make changes there?

Steve Cohen: I'm going to leave that to David. You know, that's – I don't get involved in that stuff, okay?  I mean, I'll meet the manager and have an opinion, but I, you know, let them sort that out. 

Question: Do you think Alex Cora is somebody you guys would talk to? 

Steve Cohen: Okay, I – you know, I'm sure there's a bunch of names out there. So, once again, they'll do a managerial search, and they'll figure it out then. 

Question: Talk about the fact that you would be annoyed with the fact that playoff appearances.  How would you describe your mood when you got right here for the offseason? 

Steve Cohen:  I've already passed the annoyance part.  I'm now on the acceptance part. Now, what's the question?

Question: That's essentially the question.  Yeah, yeah. How do you feel? Obviously, you expressed some optimism about kind of – 

Steve Cohen:  So, what am I going to do, right?  Here we are, okay?  And it's obviously disappointing.  And we only have 35 games left, and we start playing – you know, hopefully we continue a winning kind of spirit.  And keep it going, which I think will bode well for next year.  And at some point, you've got to turn the page and look forward and see what we can do in 27.

Question: Steve, we've put the Dodgers on such a pedestal as kind of the Paragon team, the spending and all that. They've had troubles on the field with some of their free agents haven't been performing. Off the field recently, there's been some stuff with ownership. What do you make of what's been going on over there? 

Steve Cohen: Yeah, listen, I read what you read. It's an investigation. I don't really know exactly where it's going.  I hope Mark can figure it out and put it behind him. The Dodgers are still a strong team.  They have strong revenues. Solid process. I think the Dodgers are going to continue to be a good team. 

Question: You look at guys like Carson Bench, Nolan McLean and A.J. Ewing, taking over and playing their first full seasons at an effective level. Do you see in the future kind of prioritizing the farm system, using guys in the top of the organization to kind of take over here?

Steve Cohen: Like I said, there's always a preference to homegrown players that come up and are controllable. You're not going to throw players in that perhaps don't belong on the field. Once again, it's a player-by-player analysis. But part of my goal is to create a sustainable farm system that can produce players that impact the major league team. 

Question: You've expressed some concern about regression in the farm system this season.  How do you feel about it now?

Steve Cohen: Yeah, well, that was before the trade deadline, right? And so now it looks different, it looks better. We've seen some good performance from the players that were already there beforehand. So that's looking better than the addition of infusion of new talent. You can kind of get excited by it.

Question: Have you identified the genesis of the regression? 

Steve Cohen:  I mean, I'm told development is not linear, right? I mean, we've had players come up that have performed really well.  And so you're never going to bat 100%, right? Or it's going to ebb and flow, and that's just the way it goes. But generally, I'm certainly seeing what everybody else is seeing, and that's kind of fun.