“[The machine] will be the pitcher, so if we draw up Clayton Kershaw, we will be facing Kershaw” - New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has enhanced his team’s practices with a new, state-of-the-art pitching pitch simulator

Upgrades, upgrades, and more upgrades has been the name of the game for the New York Mets this season. They acquired some big names this off-season to stack up their pitching rotation and to juice up their batting order. Starter Chris Bassit came from the Oakland Athletics and has been a steady presence on the mound so far. Outfielder Starling Marte has greatly bolstered the team's offense. He's hitting .280 so far.

And it's all thanks to the team's owner, Steve Cohen, who continues to spend big dollars to give the Mets a competitive edge this season. He recently made another big purchase. Unlike his previous moves, this one won't add a new name to the team's roster. Instead, it'll make the players already on it even better.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has enhanced his team’s practices with a new, state-of-the-art pitch simulator

The new pitching machine can mimick the pitch arsenal of any major league thrower, including Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw

"New York Post" columnist Mike Puma called it the Mets' "next big thing." It's a state-of-the-art pitching machine that mimicks the arsenals of major-league throwers. Steve Cohen recently purchased the machine from Canada, and it's set to arrive at Citi Field in two weeks.

The machine uses artificial intelligence to study and replicate the throwing patterns, ball movements, and velocities that MLB pitchers use. It has a database storing all this information and can shoot out unique fastballs and breaking balls upon command.

New York Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez explained the machine like this:

“[The machine] will be the pitcher, so if we draw up Clayton Kershaw we will be facing Kershaw, his windup and everything and his pitches," said Chavez.

"The machine will 'replicate the delivery of any pitcher that is inputted.' Brandon Nimmo: 'That’s one of the huge differences we have seen from the start. If it’s going to help the team succeed, then [Cohen] is willing to do it, so it really doesn’t come down to a cost factor.'" - @ SNY Mets

The Mets aren't the first team to use this technology. According to Chavez, four other MLB teams have already pounced on their own versions of the machine. But that doesn't take away the competitive edge it brings. Instead of facing generic pitching machines and batting-practice pitchers before games, New York Mets hitters will have a chance to practice hitting against their opponents' starting pitchers before even facing them in real life.

"Brandon Nimmo has confidence in Steve Cohen after the Mets purchased a high-tech pitching machine." - @ Metsmerized Online

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said this is just another example of how badly Steve Cohen wants his team to win.

“That’s one of the huge differences we have seen from the start,” Nimmo said. “If it’s going to help the team succeed then [Cohen] is willing to do it, so it really doesn’t come down to a cost factor.”

It's hard to imagine the New York Mets performing better than they have been in the season's first 50 games, but this machine could raise the bar even higher.