Steve Cohen will “prepare for all contingencies” if the Mets don’t improve

“All is not lost yet, but it is getting late,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday. “I prepare my management team for all eventualities. If they don’t improve, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. This is not my preferred end result. We prepare for all contingencies.”

Cohen said that manager Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Epler will keep their jobs regardless of the end of the season, but that the team is still pursuing a president of baseball operations.

For this year, older players may be at risk of trades. Cohen said he would be willing to cover their pay in the trade if it returned better prospects.

“A year older with a veteran team, maybe not the place to be,” he said.

New York currently expects a payroll of $360 million and is on track to charge record luxury taxes of about $99 million. The Mets smashed the previous salary high of $291 million set by the 2015 Los Angeles Dodgers, which set a tax record of $43.6 million that year.

However, New York started Wednesday 36-43 after losing seven of their previous 10 games and 16 of their last 22. The Mets finished fourth in the NL East, 16 behind first-place Atlanta and 8 games from their last wild card berth. Their 4.58 ERA is 25th out of 30 teams.

FanGraphs estimated the Mets’ chances of winning the division at 0.1%, reaching the playoffs at 13.3% and winning the World Series at 1.1%.

“It was incredibly frustrating. I watch every game and see what happens,” he said. “Hopefully we can right the ship. Listen, we’ve got quality players. For some reason, we’re not playing… It’s kind of weird. It’s really weird to me.”

Heading into his third season under Cohen, the Mets added pitchers Justin Verlander, Koday Senga, Jose Quintana, and David Robertson along with catcher Omar Narváez and outfielder Tommy Pham. They also re-signed quarterback Brandon Nemo for $162 million over eight years and closer Edwin Diaz for $102 million over five years. Diaz injured his knee during the World Baseball Classic and is expected to miss the entire season.

“They just have to act together,” he said. “It will take a real commitment.”

When asked if fourth place would lead to major changes, he quipped, “It’s not fifth place.”