It appears the Mets’ next owner will be Steve Cohen, who entered exclusive negotiations to purchase the franchise from Fred and Jeff Wilpon last Friday. Cohen became the favorite after beating out multiple big-money groups, including one headlined by former major leaguer/current television analyst Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez. The Rodriguez-Lopez team was willing to offer $2.3 billion for the Mets before losing out to Cohen, according to Josh Kosman and Thornton McEnery of the New York Post.
Now, after falling short, A-Rod is crying foul on the process, as he believes bidding was "rigged" in Cohen’s favor, Kosman and McEnery report. Mets banker Steve Greenberg asked Rodriguez what his group was willing to pay before final bids were due, per Kosman and McEnery, who write that the 14-time All-Star “reluctantly” gave Greenberg the information. Cohen then offered $2.35 billion for the franchise, which will apparently end up as the winning bid.
“They took the bids and showed them to Cohen,” a source close to Rodriguez told the New York Post. Another source said the sale “was fixed” because Rodriguez & Co. did not get a chance to match Cohen’s offer. Rodriguez has tried contacting Fred Wilpon since last Friday but to no avail, Kosman and McEnery report.
With Rodriguez out of the picture, it should only be a matter of time before Cohen finalizes a deal, though Major League Baseball will spend three months investigating his background before a sale goes through, Kosman and McEnery relay. If Cohen does get the team for $2.35 billion, though, it would represent a lower amount than the $2.6 billion he was willing to fork over in the winter before negotiations between him and the Wilpons fell apart.
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