One year into Cohen’s ownership, little has changed

Steve Cohen completed his purchase of the Mets a year ago, simultaneously saving the franchise from the rocky reign of the Wilpon family and the unsettling prospect of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez owning the team.

But little has changed. Jared Porter was hired as general manager in December and lasted a month before he was fired for having sexually harassed a female reporter in 2016.

Another former Red Sox executive, Zack Scott, was named acting GM. He got through seven months before being arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Scott has been on leave since the incident. He could remain in the organization in a different capacity once his legal issues are resolved but won’t be GM.

Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor has had the worst season of his career after agreeing to a $341 million contract and helped organize a short-lived stunt by the players to give fans at Citi Field a collective thumbs-down for having the temerity to boo an underachieving team.

Jacob deGrom had a 1.08 ERA and 146 strikeouts through 15 starts but hasn’t pitched since July 7 because of what the team said was an elbow strain. DeGrom disputed that, saying earlier his elbow was fine. But he refused to take any questions.

As for Cohen, he recently ran a contest on Twitter offering fans a chance to sit with him for a game if they correctly guessed who he thought was the anonymous source of a New York Post story.

Cohen has tweeted 620 times since buying the team. With the Mets, there’s always something going on.

For now, baseball operations are being run by Sandy Alderson, who would prefer to stay on the business side of the organization. Alderson’s plan is to hire a president of baseball operations. Within the industry, there’s a belief Alderson wants to name son Bryn GM as part of that transition.

The Mets are hoping to interest Billy

Beane or Theo Epstein in the top job.

Alderson and Beane worked together in Oakland and Beane was a Mets prospect before he became a famed executive.

Epstein busted historic curses with the Red Sox and Cubs. The dark cloud over the Mets is a trifle by comparison. The Mets have a wealthy owner, good facilities, and a solid talent base.

Beane has a comfortable life with the Athletics, one that allows him time to pursue his investment interests in international soccer and cricket and take speaking engagements when he wants. At 59, Beane is young enough to embrace a new project. But running the Mets would be jumping into the fire.

Epstein, 47, has done plenty to fill his Hall of Fame plaque already. Would rescuing the Mets be worth his time and effort?

Epstein is consulting with MLB on making the needed changes to improve the pace and quality of the game. He’s also an “executive in residence” with a private investment group.

Not to dismiss the Mets as a worthy cause, but Epstein could have something bigger in mind.

A better candidate may be Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns, who has built a sustainable winner in a small market. The Brewers ran away with the National League Central this season with a payroll in the bottom third of the game.

Seeing what he could do with better resources could appeal to Stearns, a Manhattan native who grew up a Mets fan and interned with the team in 2008.

For now, there doesn’t seem to be a fourth candidate, as the Mets are aiming high. The Rays headed off interest in Erik Neander by signing him to an extension to remain as president of baseball operations.

Whoever takes the job will quickly have to decide whether to retain manager Luis Rojas, who is a respected figure within the organization but is under .500 in two seasons. Meanwhile, Lindor wants the Mets to retain Javier Baez, who will be a free agent.

The Mets also have a tricky decision with Noah Syndergaard, who hasn’t pitched since 2019 because of Tommy John surgery and will be a free agent.