Steve Cohen has finally said the quiet part out loud about one of the Mets’ worst-kept secrets: Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto were not exactly best friends last year.
Speaking on the New York Post’s podcast The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, Cohen addressed the dynamic between his two biggest stars just days after the Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza. It was one of the few times he has spoken publicly this year, and he used the platform to give David Stearns a strong show of support while also acknowledging there had been real tension between Lindor and Soto.
He didn’t go into specifics, but he made it clear he believes the issue is no longer hanging over the club.
"I believe strongly that these guys are getting along much better. I just don't see that as an issue anymore."
Steve Cohen on Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor's relationship in the Mets clubhouse.
The Show with @Joelsherman1 & @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/A3jbo2sSX5
- New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 1, 2026
That admission fits with the way the two have looked on the field, or more accurately, the way they haven’t looked together for much of the year. Lindor and Soto barely shared the lineup at times, with Lindor landing on the injured list the same game Soto came back from his own early IL stint. For much of the season, the Mets felt like they were operating at half strength.
The exact source of the friction has never been spelled out. Mike Francesa said Lindor and Brandon Nimmo’s politics divided the relationship between those two, but in Soto’s case there has never been a concrete explanation beyond a personality clash.
Eric Chavez said Soto would remove himself from the dugout early last season, a detail that only added to the sense that his style didn’t line up neatly with Lindor’s. Soto arrived on a team that, by all accounts, was led by Lindor, so it’s fair to wonder whether there was a struggle over hierarchy or something else entirely.
Pedro Martinez also took aim at this year’s Mets, saying they lacked leadership. That critique, along with other comments and moments from the past few months, has made the clubhouse feel like part of the story. Cohen’s preseason decision not to name a captain while he owns the team now looks even more interesting in that light, since a strained relationship between Lindor and Soto could have undercut Lindor’s standing behind the scenes.
The signs were there from the start. On Opening Day, Lindor and Soto’s handshake was as thin as they come, while everyone else around them seemed to move with the ease of people who had already settled into the same rhythm.
Even with Cohen saying the issue has been resolved, the subject isn’t likely to disappear quickly. Until the next awkward moment on the field or the next visible shot of them parked on opposite sides of the dugout, this remains the kind of Mets storyline that refuses to stay buried.
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