Reese Kaplan -- The First Chapter of the Sale Saga...

The rumor mill is working overtime right now since the five bids arrived to purchase the Mets.  There is a lot of fluff out there, but one thing has become quite clear.  Steve Cohen is once again front and center as the likely suitor.  In fact, numbers have even gotten tossed around as if they were real.  The $2 billion figure for Cohen is matched by an alleged $2 billion offer to include the SNY network into the whole deal.  If you recall, the original bid was $2.6 billion without SNY, so it’s a big step forward not only in terms of total investment but also in total return.

To many Mets fans, they are bouncing up and down with excitement that someone with deep pockets is actually participating in this process.  Yes, it’s less for the Mets themselves than was originally bid, but perhaps that is the difference in having complete control immediately vs. having the Wilpons on board for five full years of agony.  

What’s interesting is that the A-Rod/JLo partnership seeking to buy the team kind of suddenly fell by the wayside when the Cohen bid news hit the media.  The folks who were looking for the celebrity cache of the baseball superstar and singer/actress heading up the publicity that accompanies such conspicuousness.  Cohen has a reputation as a strong negotiator but mostly has the reputation as a behind-the-scenes type of guy.  For the folks looking for the back page headlines every day that A-Rod/JLo would deliver probably chafe at the lower key approach Cohen would represent.

Little by little more details will emerge about the other partners and a weight will be given to their apparent seriousness for the negotiations.  Remember that Cohen is already a part-owner of the club and as such actually gets to see the incoming bids from others.  Obviously that exposure gives him a privileged position when it comes to his counter offer.  Furthermore, rumor has it that he has already agreed with the Wilpons to address any final offers with the opportunity to increase the total bid.  If you believe the rumors, then he is prepared to kick in another $200 million over whatever the competing bid actually is.  

Some folks say that it’s unfair he has this advantage, but there’s nothing really unethical about it since he is already an owner and would have input on these types of financial transactions.  Others are fine with this arrangement since he is showing genuine interest in how to acquire the team rather than just disappearing after the initial bid was made like last time.  

A guy with deep pockets is appealing to a great many folks since they haven’t seen the Wilpons act like wealthy, engaged and committed owners for quite some time now.  The most emotional fans figure that a Cohen type means that the budget is unlimited for pursuing free agents like J.T. Realmuto and Mookie Betts.  The more pessimistic fans feel that once $2-$4 billion is dumped into the Wilpons’ pockets for taking over the team and perhaps SNY that there won’t be much left to invest in superior free agent talent.  The truth is that a new owner will want to make an impression and show some traction towards building a winner, but you can’t really expect him to buy a pennant a’la Steinbrenner.  

Of course, there’s also the possibility that the Mets do not change ownership this season as planned.  The Wilpons are already despised by most fans and they really can’t fall much further by not following through on their sales initiative.  They may want to hold off during this extended exhibition season such as it is and regroup in November after the post-season ends.  Some folks surmise that they are holding out for a playoff berth to drive up the price of the ballclub.  Others feel it’s merely greed.  

Change is necessary.  Sooner is better than later (as far as the fans are concerned).  However, it’s not the decision of the fans.  Like it or not, the Wilpons are the owners and unless their creditors force their hand, it’s up to them if they sell, when they sell and how much they’ll accept.  Be at best cautiously optimistic something will happen...eventually.