Steve Cohen cleared his first hurdle towards gaining MLB approval for his Met ownership deal as he was approved by MLB’s Ownership Committee.
The best comparison I could make is a political one. This is similar to the process in Congress where a committee must approve legislation before it is voted on by the entire body.
His next step will be to pass the Executive Council and then the owners will vote on it. He will need 23 of the 29 owners to vote yes and that would clear him to take over ownership of the Mets. I am hearing that voting process could occur as soon as the days following the conclusion of The World Series.
The agreement with the Wilpons would make Cohen the owner of 95% of the Mets and the final asking price is reported to be $2.42 Billion Should the approval process fall through, it could open up the bidding for the Alex Rodriquez cartel but I am told that is a very unlikely scenario.
I think it would also begin the process of an SNY sale as Cohen will have the right to purchase that entity and if he passes on that, it could provide an interesting bidding war for the regional sports network.
The timing of this vote is crucial to the off-season plans of the Mets. Cohen has indicated he would hire Sandy Alderson in the capacity of running baseball operations but it is unclear who would be the team’s general manager in that setting. My take is that it would make sense to retain Brodie Van Wagenen so that off-season planning can begin immediately after the voting process has concluded.
The Mets have needs that should be addressed but simply can not be executed until both the approval process concludes and a general manager is put in place. The free agent class has many players that could address the needs of the team and I am sure Cohen would desire to make a big splash upon his arrival.
Time will tell but it should be a real interesting Met off-season.