rewrite this title The Mets have yet to figure out how to escape the Dodgers’ shadow

The Mets, much like every team in the majors, have a Dodgers problem.

For them, though, it comes with a runner-up syndrome.

You may remember that in March 2012, Guggenheim Partners circumvented a final bidding process by buying the Dodgers for a then-MLB record $2.15 billion. The runner-up was Steve Cohen.

The two teams have since been the last main bidders on four huge free agents. The Dodgers have won each — Trevor Bauer, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker. The Dodgers were interested in Juan Soto, but were not fighting mano a mano in the end with the Mets — the Yankees were.