Steve Cohen sure knows how to build anticipation.
The New York Mets owner Cohen caused a stir on Thursday night with a cryptic post. As the Mets await a decision by top free agent target Kyle Tucker, Cohen posted a seven-word message to X.
“Let me know when you see smoke,” Cohen wrote, an obvious reference to white smoke emerging from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel when a new pope has been elected.
Let me know when you see smoke
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 15, 2026
After sending fans into a frenzy with his post, Cohen then clarified the extent of his knowledge in a subsequent message to X.
“For those who don’t understand the pope election reference , we are waiting for a decision,” Cohen wrote. “That’s all I know.”
For those who don’t understand the pope election reference , we are waiting for a decision. That’s all I know
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 16, 2026
The Mets, who have been extremely spend-happy ever since the billionaire hedge-fund manager Cohen took over in 2020, are one of the top suitors for the four-time All-Star outfielder Tucker this offseason. A report earlier this week suggested that the Mets had offered Tucker a contract with an absurd average annual value.
That said, the Mets have some strong competition from (among other teams) the Toronto Blue Jays, who may have an advantage in their willingness to offer Tucker a crazy number of years. But Cohen, who confirmed that he was indeed referencing the Tucker saga in his X posts, has to be feeling decently confident about the Mets’ chances to even be publicly addressing the situation at all here.
