PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets have had four team captains in franchise history. Keith Hernandez was the first. Gary Carter, John Franco and David Wright followed. The title has been vacant since Wright retired in 2018. Many assumed Francisco Lindor was next.
That assumption died Monday when owner Steve Cohen stood in front of reporters at Clover Park and shut the door permanently.
“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain,” Cohen said before the Mets’ first full-squad workout. “That was my decision. My view is the locker room is unique. And let the locker room sort it out, year in, year out.”
Framed that way, the decision sounds philosophical. Most MLB clubs do not bother with the title. Only the Yankees and Royals currently have captains. But the timing of Cohen’s announcement, and the context surrounding it, tells a different story.
A ‘corporate clubhouse’ and the cracks beneath
The Mets went 83-79 last season and missed the playoffs on the final day. That was a sharp fall from 2024, when they reached Game 6 of the NLCS against the Dodgers. The talent did not change much. The vibe did.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said on The Michael Kay Show earlier this month that the 2025 clubhouse felt like “a corporate clubhouse.” He added: “Not that guys didn’t like each other. They respected each other. They got along.”
That is a diplomatic way of saying the room was cold. The tight-knit energy from the 2024 run had evaporated. Players showed up, did their work and went home. The fire was gone.
Much of the speculation about what went wrong centered on two players: Lindor and Juan Soto. Soto arrived from the Yankees on a 15-year, $765 million contract before the 2025 season. He put up huge numbers, hitting .274 with 43 homers and 105 RBIs. But the New York Post reported that his relationship with Lindor was “chilly.” Last season, Soto told a reporter that veteran outfielder Starling Marte was “actually the captain of the team.” Many viewed that comment as a direct slight to Lindor.
Michael Kay connects the dots on Cohen’s real motive
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay offered a blunt read of the situation on The Michael Kay Show. He suggested Cohen’s no-captain policy is less about baseball tradition and more about managing two giant egos.
“He’s got two guys that probably think they should be the captain,” Kay said. “Lindor really wants to be the captain and he’s kind of articulated that to some people. Juan Soto, just by virtue of a 15-year deal… many people thought that he should be the captain.”
Kay pointed out that Cohen has owned the Mets for six years but never publicly ruled out the captaincy until now. The timing matters. If Cohen picks Lindor, he risks alienating a $765 million player in Soto. If he picks Soto, he undercuts the shortstop who has been the face of the franchise since arriving in 2021.
“I do believe it is a concession to not tick off either Soto or Lindor,” Kay said. He added: “Although they say they’re fine, you could tell they’re not close.”
Lindor and Soto insist the drama is over
Both players addressed reporters over the weekend at Clover Park and tried to put 2025 behind them.
“That’s in the past,” Soto said. “We forget about it. We focus on 2026.” When asked about his relationship with Lindor, Soto kept it brief: “I think it’s a great relationship. We talk all the time in the game and everything, and we help each other.”
Lindor was more expansive but stopped well short of calling Soto a close friend. “Are we all best friends? That’s not how it works in the clubhouse,” Lindor said. “But we are friends. We’re good teammates. We care for each other.”
Mendoza said the organization has never discussed the captaincy with Lindor. “I just want him to be himself,” Mendoza said. “If anything, it’s making sure you play shortstop for the New York Mets. That’s his job. It’s on me and our coaches to take a lot off his plate.”
How the Yankees handle the captaincy differently
Across town, the Yankees offer a sharp contrast. Aaron Judge was named the 16th captain in franchise history in 2023. There was no drama. No competing egos. The decision was obvious.
The Yankees have used the captaincy as a unifying force for decades, from Lou Gehrig to Thurman Munson to Derek Jeter. Judge fits that lineage perfectly. He is the team’s best player, its most respected voice and its emotional anchor. Nobody in the Bronx questioned the choice.
Kay noted that the Yankees also have strong leaders beyond Judge, including Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole, but that Judge’s captaincy does not create friction. “You can have leadership without the title,” Kay said. The difference is that the Yankees had a clear No. 1. The Mets do not.
David Wright sees it differently
The last Mets captain offered a more generous reading of Cohen’s decision. Wright, who held the title from 2013 until his retirement, told MLB.com that the current roster may not need a single leader.
“I think every situation is different,” Wright said. “What I see is a team full of veteran-type leaders where maybe it’s viewed as unnecessary to have one leader when you have a locker roomful of leaders. You have perennial All-Stars. You have possible future Hall of Famers. You have guys that have won in other places.”
The Mets overhauled their roster this winter. Pete Alonso signed with the Orioles. Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers for Marcus Semien. Jeff McNeil went to the Athletics. In came Semien, Bo Bichette and pitcher Freddy Peralta. The leadership group looks completely different.
Whether the new faces solve the old problems remains to be seen. For Yankees fans, the Mets’ captain saga is a reminder of what a stable clubhouse looks like and what happens when ownership has to tiptoe around its own stars. The Bronx has Judge, an undisputed leader with a title to match. Queens has two superstars, a corporate vibe and a permanent ban on the word captain.
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