Steve Cohen is set to become the New York Mets‘ new majority owner. What does that mean for this offseason?
With news of the Wilpons’ selling the team many fans immediately jumped to the money. The Wilpons have spent like a mid market team for most of the decade and fans are sick of it. So, Mets fans were excited to find out that they were selling the team.
They got even more excited when they found out who Steve Cohen was. Cohen is one of the 30 richest people in America and is set to become the richest owner in MLB. Cohen’s net worth is over 19 times larger than the Wilpons. Plus, Cohen is said to be ready to elevate the Mets spending into the level of other major market teams. Not just on free agents, but on analytics and other front office pieces as well. He’s set to spend money to make the Mets one of the forces in MLB.
That’s exciting, but it’s not happening anytime soon. Sorry to ruin the fun, but the sale will not affect the Mets this offseason. The team isn’t all of a sudden going to sign Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon.
First off, the deal isn’t even finalized. The Wilpons have come close to selling their majority stake two times before this and both times it fell through. So, take any excitement over this deal with a grain of salt. Until the deal is finalized it could all fall apart.
Even after the deal is finalized it could all fall apart. Cohen has to be approved as a majority owner by the rest of the owners. While that is likely it’s not a guarantee. Cohen has previous issues with the law being hit with insider trading and sexual discrimination suits.
If this deal does get done, and Cohen does become the team’s majority owner. It won’t happen until February at the earliest. That’s when the next owner meeting is, and that’s when they would likely vote on Cohen. By that point, the offseason will have passed.
This sale is exiting for the Mets, and fans should be happy. However, just keep in mind that it’s not set in stone. Even when it is all done it won’t have an effect for a little while.
That said, MLB better watch out for the Steve Cohen led New York Mets in 2021.