Yankees will back Mets’ sale to Steve Cohen, per report

Simeon Woods-Richardson
Mar 23, 2019; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; A view of the Grapefruit League logo on the hat of New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano (24) prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Cohen recently reached an agreement to buy the New York Mets from the Wilpon family. However, for the transaction to be 100% official, the MLB board of owners would need to approve the billionaire hedge funder, which isn’t expected to be an issue according to several outlets.

To be more precise, for Cohen to acquire the New York Mets, he needs 23 of the 29 remaining ownership groups to give their blessing. The New York Yankees, according to SNY’s Andy Martino, aren’t expected to stand in the way.

Martino recently reported that the Yankees are “not expected to be one of the no votes on Cohen.” While the expectation is that Cohen eventually gets approved, it is also true that it probably won’t be unanymous.

The Yankees won’t stand in the Mets’ way

Per Martino, “multiple league sources continue to say that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf might oppose Cohen. Reinsdorf strongly denied that last week in a statement to SNY, but the belief in the industry remains persistent.”

Cohen said via a statement that, if he gets approved, his first move will be to appoint Mets’ old friend Sandy Alderson as the team president. If that proves to be true, it would spell the end of Brodie Van Wagenen’s tenure as the current general manager. BVW replaced Alderson as the GM in 2018.

Cohen reportedly will buy the Mets for a number in the neighborhood of $2.4 billion. He would be MLB’s wealthiest owner, with a net worth of $14.5 billion.

His bid topped those of former Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and his fiancee Jennifer Lopez, and also one from New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer.

The New York Mets are struggling to keep themselves in the race for a postseason spot in the 2020 season. Meanwhile, the Yankees have already secured their place in the Wild Card round.