OPINION: Steve Cohen’s No-Captain Policy May Be About Protecting Juan Soto
Steve Cohen says the Mets won’t name a captain under his ownership. Here’s why the decision may be about protecting Juan Soto’s role alongside Francisco Lindor.
2/24/20262 min read
On February 16, 2026, at the Mets’ spring training site in Port St. Lucie, owner Steve Cohen told reporters: “As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain.”¹ The statement was categorical, and it landed as a policy choice rather than a temporary preference. Reuters, ESPN, and Sportsnet each reported Cohen’s position in essentially the same framing: no captain under his ownership, with leadership left to the clubhouse year to year.¹²³
The Mets have named four official captains: Keith Hernandez (1987), Gary Carter (co-captain beginning in 1988), John Franco (named in 2001), and David Wright (named in 2013).³⁴⁵ Wright’s appointment is the cleanest historical marker because MLB.com explicitly lists Hernandez, Carter, and Franco as the only prior captains when Wright was named the fourth in franchise history.⁴
In a traditional franchise pattern, Francisco Lindor has the résumé that usually triggers that kind of organizational signal. The Mets finalized Lindor’s 10-year, $341 million extension on April 1, 2021, locking him in as a cornerstone well beyond the early Cohen years.⁶ From 2022 through 2025, Lindor played at an everyday-player rate (150+ games each season) and remained a central on-field presence at shortstop.⁷ That combination—tenure, visibility, durability, and responsibility at a premium position—typically produces formal leadership titles when teams choose to use them at all.
But Cohen’s announcement came in a context where the “face” question is no longer purely internal. Juan Soto entered 2026 with a track record that makes him an organizational gravitational field: multiple All-Star selections, multiple Silver Sluggers, and elite offensive production across his prime-age seasons.⁸ Soto also finished second in the 2021 National League MVP voting, a useful shorthand for how the sport has valued him at peak visibility.⁹
That is where the opinion portion begins, and it should be stated plainly: naming Lindor captain now would create a formal hierarchy at the exact moment the Mets are trying to operate with two franchise-level stars in the same room. Cohen’s “never” language functions as a preemptive removal of the question itself.¹² In New York, symbolic designations become media architecture. They don’t stay symbolic for long.
Cohen defended his approach by framing baseball captains as unusual and preferring organic leadership.¹³ That may be true in the league-wide sense, but the Mets are not operating in a league-wide attention economy. They are operating in New York’s. The captaincy isn’t a rulebook role; it’s a narrative crown.
If Cohen wants Lindor and Soto to coexist without a public pecking order, the simplest solution is the one he announced: no crown at all.
Sources
Sportsnet, “Mets owner Steve Cohen says club won’t have captain as long as he’s in charge,” Feb. 16, 2026.
Reuters, “Steve Cohen: Mets will never have captain with me as owner,” Feb. 16, 2026.
ESPN, “Steve Cohen says there’ll never be a captain while he owns Mets,” Feb. 16, 2026.
MLB.com (Anthony DiComo), “Wright appointed fourth captain in Mets history,” Mar. 21, 2013.
SABR BioProject, “John Franco,” noting captaincy in May 2001.
MLB.com, “Francisco Lindor, Mets have 10-year deal,” Apr. 1, 2021.
MLB Player Page, Francisco Lindor games played by season (shows 150+ GP across 2022–2025).
Baseball-Reference Bullpen, “Juan Soto” awards summary (All-Star/Silver Slugger counts).
Baseball-Reference, “2021 Awards Voting” (NL MVP table listing Soto).
OPINION: STEVE COHEN'S NO-CAPTAIN POLICY MAY BE ABOUT PROTECTING JUAN SOTO
With two franchise-level stars in the clubhouse, the Mets’ owner may be choosing structural neutrality over symbolic hierarchy.
