Yankee Alex Rodriguez to buy the Mets?
The New York Mets may be getting closer to getting a buyer. Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, who have a net worth around $700 million, have made a move that shows their interest in purchasing the Met is serious. They have hired JP Morgan Chase to find investment partners. Alex loves New York and grew up a Mets fan, Lopez is from the Bronx.
A Hedge fund group was to buy the team, but the deal fell through in February. Hedge fund titan Steve Cohen was to purchase the club in a deal that valued the club at $2.6 billion. Cohen would get 80% ownership, but the Wilpon family would maintain control of the club for five years, with the Wilpons continuing to hold the positions of CEO and COO. Cohen already owns an 8% stake in the franchise.
Alex Rodriguez certainly has experience in the baseball world to manage the front office of the Mets. Alex started in baseball with the Seattle Mariners going on to the Texas Rangers and eventually being acquired by the New York Yankees. He was a Yankee until retiring from the game in 2016. With 22 years in baseball, the deal would be similar to in nature to former Yankee Derek Jeters investment in the Florida Marlins.
Jennifer Lopez is the fiancee of Rodriguez, and the superstar duo has kicked the tires and shown an interest in buying the club ever since Jeter invested in the Marlins. The couple is working with managing director Eric Menell, JP Morgan’s co-head of North American media investment banking. The 44-year-old Rodriguez and company would have to assume a present $50 million annual loss the Mets are presently experiencing. According to the New York Post who tried to reach both Menell and representatives of Rodriguez, neither responded for requests for comment.
Jacob deGrom the basketball player
New York Mets superstar pitcher Jacob deGrom may very well have been a start basketball player than the ace of the Mets. In high school in Florida, he was known as a basketball player but also played on the school’s baseball team.
It’s not unusual for athletic high school boys to participate in multiple sports while determining if they have a future in any one of them. His time playing basketball continued when he entered Stetson University in central Florida. He started in baseball as a shortstop in his but in his junior year at Stetson, he switched to pitching.
Recently Nick Pugliese who was a teammate of deGrom’s at Stetson were playing around throwing some hoops. Pugliese who is a few years older than deGrom had never seen Jacob in basketball game action. As they were fooling around, deGrom admitted, “Well, I played a little bit of basketball,†deGrom said in his soft, quiet tone. When Pugliese saw some of the shots he was making, he felt like he was being hustled. Pugliese played for the Angels until he was released. He now pitches for the Fortitudo Baseball Bologna in the Italian Baseball League.