1:07 pm: As part of the sale, Andrew Cohen (no relation to Steve) will become the Mets’ vice chairman, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (Twitter link). Steve Cohen’s wife Alexandra will also pick up a small ownership stake in the franchise, per various reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News).
12:39 pm: The sale of 95% of the Mets from Fred and Jeff Wilpon to Steve Cohen officially closed this afternoon, per various reporters (including Andy Martino of SNY). The Mets have confirmed the news. With that, Cohen officially becomes the club’s majority owner.
Today’s development is something of a formality, as it became apparent Cohen cleared the final major hurdle in the sales process when he got approval from the league’s owners last week. Nevertheless, Mets fans will surely be happy to put a bow on the year-long saga, which saw Cohen’s negotiations with the Wilpons last offseason fall through. Ultimately, the parties came back to the table this summer after Cohen beat out a few competitors for exclusive negotiating rights. This time, they agreed upon a sale for around $2.475 billion.
There’s plenty of hope among fans Cohen will greenlight a significant uptick in the team’s payroll. He and incoming team president Sandy Alderson can now officially turn to addressing the roster.
BIG MARKET TEAM! LET THE TAKEOVER BEGIN!
F yeah now fire Brodie and get to work!
And he’s gone.
Damn dude, do you do requests?
Cohen heard you!
Merry Christmas Mets fan!
Trade Rosario and Dom smith for lindor.
Sign Bauer and springer or realmuto. Am I too greedy to say all three ? What da heck spoil us we deserve it.
Here we go World Series 2021.
I’m not trading dom for 1 year of Lindor
Good thing you aren’t running the show, a real fan would trade 12 Dominic Smiths for a transcendent talent like Lindor.
It’s a good thing you aren’t the Mets GM. No GM in baseball would trade DOM for one year of Lindor….. you could get Lindor for less than dom. Like gimenez+ bc Lindor is only 1 year.
gimenez Baty. That’s a deal that could work for both teams. Maybe more but no way dom Alonso or mcniel would be in any trade for 1 year of Lindor.
MetsFan22 is Steve Cohen?!?!? Or Sandy Anderson?!?!?
No I just know that Lindor could be acquired for less than smith…..
Clearly you don’t know anything then because Dominic smith is not a positive asset… he plays the less important positions on the diamond and his production can be replaced by a replacement level FA. One good 1/3 of a season and now he’s worth more than Lindor? Guess there’s a reason you picked the Mets as your team… misery suits you
One season of control of Lindor at ~$20M vs. several seasons of control of Dom Smith at below-market prices changes the equation significantly. It’s not just a matter of who is the better player. How much would adding Lindor for possibly just 2021 benefit the Mets vs. the cost of trading cheap players with potential? That’s what they would need to consider.
Trade for Lindor!
Somehow the Mets ended up with a worse owner than the Wilpons. What a disaster.
I wonder what else you do prematurely.
well played !
Lol that was a good one
The wilpons were incompetent. This guy is a criminal.
7th grade humor. Thanks meckert. Not funny. Get lost.
You do know the Wilpons somehow made money on a ponzi scheme, right?
Got under your skin didn’t I? The point is that your initial comment was absurdly premature and foolish. The point of my reply is that I don’t suffer fools gladly. Now then, how many times did you repeat the 7th grade?
I dunno, there just haven’t been any Mets teams on fire since ’86.
I know the 2015 team was obviously WS caliber, but…barely. 2000 was kind of the same.
Just get a bunch of mulletheads to come back and scrap your way to a championship again.
The Mets are a big market team!!! Go get Morton, Bauer, Lynn!!! Realmuto, Springer, Lagares!!! …wait…
Bring back Jose Reyes! lol
Sign 30 players for the 26-man roster!
Steve Cohen is so powerful; he can play two DH’s.
BYAAAAH!
Dang. Happens. Did. You’d see that ??? Rollers go. 162-0. Lol. Get it!!
Fire Rich Coutinho asap!
I laugh at Mets fans who right away think throwing money at players will guarantee you a World Series… Bauer? A 500 pitcher who had a couple good years… look it up my friends, throw away money and watch your team finish worse than in years past
It’s not just the money. The wilpons didn’t know how to run a team. It’s ok tho Ik you’re nervous
I’d love to see Bauer join Degrom and Syndergaard for next season. I’d personally want him before Springer or Realmuto. I also think they should instead go after Mccann rather than Realmuto. They’ll need another starter after that if they want to keep Peterson in the rotation which I think makes Lynn a serious target for them (especially since he’s cheap). Springer is a stretch if they get the other guys I’ve mentioned, but maybe he just wants to spend a ton. IDK.
But go get Bauer, Lynn, Mccann, and one of Hand, Hendriks, Rosenthal, or May. I think Mets fans would freak out for that.
Km sure it well be same old but exciting time I think possibly new blood brings stuff two the table. S ku
I am happy for you, MetsFan.
Isn’t that good, fine I’ll kind of agree with you as he’s good but not great. But using pitcher wins as your evidence? Lol.
Also, it’s not just spending on the ML level that matters, the Pons were notoriously cheap and dysfunctional. Budgets that changed out of nowhere, refusing to add pieces despite being in a contention window because of the Wright and Cespedes contracts. You guys have Ellisbury on your books for 5 years with about 250 PAs in that timeframe and still go out and add. The Pons would have been all over that as an excuse for not going after FAs, hell they’ve used the excuse of deferred payments plenty of times. Never going overslot in the era where there was no cap on draft picks (yanks always went overslot) and our complete absence from the international markets.
Within 2-3 years we’re going to compete with the Yankees on a sustainable level. Be prepared.
I hear that to build goodwill with the fans and show their commitment to winning, Cohen plans on signing Yoenis Céspedes to a 10 year/400MM extension.
As a secondary Met Fan (Yankees always first), I think the best thing fans get out of this is the Wilpons are out. With that said, I don’t think everyone should get ahead of themselves of the level of talent they can bring in. This free agency class is quite weak and the players they may shell out big money on are never going to be the ultimate game changer (if that’s ever possible in baseball). In other words, it’s not as if Trout is on the market.
That being said, because the team has a bunch of holes the better available free agents fit in well. The question is whether these guys are going to be worth all the money 2+ years from now.
I wonder where the narrative that the Mets have a bunch of holes came from. Yes we aren’t the dodgers but we are better off when it come to “holes” then most teams.
I wonder? Could you find me a hole here???
1B smith
DH Alonso
2b cano
SS gimenez
3B Davis
LF mcniel
Cf Nimmo
RF conforto
Some of them are horrible on defense But that’s one of the best lineups in baseball. (No holes)
The pitching was injured last year. If the pitching wasn’t injured could you find me hole???
Degrom
Syndergaard
Stro
Peterson
Matz (he is really a 4.30 era type pitcher) (perfectly fine for a 5)
Did you find a hole???
If you’re not the rays the bullpen likely has holes in it so don’t even argue bullpen.
An Ik Stroman is a FA but you really don’t think Mets will get SP in the offseason…
Let’s please stop the narrative that the Mets have a bunch of holes. Could they upgrade defensively? Sure… but they don’t have holes
id expect no DH next year, so less ABs to go around for guys like Smith, Cano could regress, Gimenez is still young, the outfield isnt all its cracked up to be, and that whole rotation is made of glass. (oh, and Thor isnt starting the season healthy id that’s what you think) Matz might be a 4.30 ERA pitcher but is prone to volatility. Stroman is prone to volatility. oh, and the bullpen is less then stellar. obviously some of this stuff will break right, but those concerns are all very real and valid.
No I agree with you. But people make it seem like we have scrubs at like 4 positions lol. That’s all I’m trying to say
They obviously have some holes (holes don’t always have to be glaring) since they can’t seem to make the playoffs even with the best pitcher in the game.
The whole sp was hurt last year.
The Yankees lost 60% of their projected starting rotation (Severino, German, and Paxton) so that can’t be the one excuse.
The yankess had more depth with their 6th, 7th, and 8th starters… the Mets and Yankees have very similar 25 man rosters but the Yankees 40 man roster (rn) is better so they survive injuries better.
The Yankee 25 man roster is way better. Also, when you mention 6th+ starters for the Yankees you further support my main point about holes. Thank you for finally seeing it my way.
It really isn’t
Like you said, defense is a hole. And when you add a contact pitcher like Stroman, his value starts to decline when his defense can’t make plays.
That cannot be dismissed, or else you’ll just have another season like this past one. Sacrificing defense for offense can work in limited situations, but over time you will start to pay for it.
Yes I agree. Defense should be fixed but it doesn’t change the fact that everyone in that lineup could hit. I wouldn’t call them a “hole”. That’s all I’m saying
Since you didn’t list a Catcher, I’m guessing you’re expecting the home plate umpire to pull double duty.
This roster looks like a wild card contender to me. Don’t see them winning more games over 162 than the Braves. Other than DeGrom, and Alonso if there’s a DH, who else on Mets would warrant a spot in the Braves Opening Day lineup?
On the offensive side of the ball the Mets would beat the Braves at
DH
3B
LF
CF
Tie at
2B
SS
So what are you taking about
And the two that you beat us other than C is RF and 1B and we have our two best hitters at that position. I agree that the Braves are better than us rn. But they do not have a better lineup…..
Look at it from this POV…
Lindor might be the best SS available…and the biggest name for Cohen to make a splash into the big leagues..
Can they afford to NOT acquire a talent like Lindor?..
Waiting for guys to see if they’re going..blah blah blah.. Wasn’t that the story the Wilpons were scamming Mets fan with???.. Time for the new ownership to show they can put their big boy pants on and make a good baseball deal for a guy like Lindor..
Heck.. make Cleveland send one of their SP’s (Civale?.. one of the others) for a better prospect heavy return?..
Thoughts?
Reasonable
Only problem is that they really need outfielders. Who ya gonna give up??
The thing with lindor is its not dollars (aka the Coupons are known for backing out of) its the prospects. If the mets were one player away it would be worth it, but they need pitching, catching, overall depth, and defense. So trading away one of your best bats and probably your top prospect at a premium position and best defender with multiple years of control for someone with 1 yr left and 25M and also being at the position your trading away your top prospect from is not a great idea. If the mets were able to sign him for a few years extension then it becomes more palatable. Also with everyone knowing he is available will drive up the price so it might even be more. SS is one position there is depth for solid players for once between Rosario, Gimenez and Mauricio in the wings.
Catcher is where we need to be playing in right now if not Realmuto they should be hitting up the cubs for Contreras or getting McCann. There is literally nothing at Catcher other than Nido. Even if you look at the pipeline there is nothing on the way.
I mean, the Wilpon’s are celebrating. $2.4B was just wired into the account.
They gonna have a big party!!!!
Just realized that I had not yet read anything where Mayor de Blasio had not given his approval yet., I remember about 2 weeks ago whining that he had reservations about Cohen buying the team and told everyone that He and the City had not signed off on the deal yet. Can’t believe they did the deal without hizzonor giving his approval.
Deblasio gave his approval a couple of weeks ago when a donation was made.
The donation must have arrived shortly after he said that he was not in favor of the deal……, upon further review….. Approved!
Yea the Mets can now be the Yankees. Now the Mets can buy it too
The Mets no longer have to dream They can now be the Yankees
In fact they might make the Yankees look cheap
Lets not worry abt the other Ny team. We different as of today.
After the Mets have spent big bucks for a couple of years, which Cohen has promised to do, they’ll have to slow down. If nothing else, the high end luxury tax will pull them up short. But two years of big spending will make a difference. Good times ahead for Mets fans. I say good on them. I believe WS need to be spread around, even if the NYY are in a WS “slump.” Mets fans have waited since the 80’s. They’re due.
Not even a fan of the team but this is the best thing for the entire franchise. The first move if they were smart is to relieve Brody of his duties. Secondly, they should add at least $40 million into the payroll this season to show the rest of the league that they will be choirs going forward for big time free agents showing they will not be afraid to spend money.