NY Mets Ownership Candidates: Who will buy the Amazins?

With the initial news of the Wilpon Family’s intentions to sell the New York Mets franchise long past, here’s an updated look at the three remaining groups still in on a potential deal.

In typical New York Mets fashion, nothing is ever easy – not even what should be considered ‘welcomed news’ for their fans – like the reality of new ownership in the not-so-distant future.

However, ever since the rumors of a potential franchise sale to minority owner, Steve Cohen, was revealed to be in the works back in December of 2019, those of us relieved by this news have continued to wait patiently for an outcome – or any new developments on the subject since said deal fell through in February of this year as neither side could come to an agreement.

But with the team now edging closer to a deal, it appears that the only three remaining groups who advanced to the final round of bids are: billionaire hedge fund manager, Steve Cohen; former major league infielder, Alex Rodriguez and his group; and business partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

With Citi Field Tour dates already beginning for these groups still in negotiations, it looks like a transaction could be reached as early as the end of August – according to Sportico – or as late as the end of the year, according to The Post.

While updates about the sale have been few and far between from the Mets-end, or any insider close to each of these buying groups, here’s an in-depth look at the pros-and-cons each of these potential new owners could bring to the club.

Final offers are due to Allen & Co. – the company presiding over the sale process – on August 31st. Let’s hope the best owner wins out. Both Mets fans and the young players on their current roster deserve it.

A-Rod, J-Lo, and Company

Alex Rodriguez’s buying group includes several athletes, featuring both current and former NFL Stars Travis Kelce, DeMarco Murray, and Brian Urlacher, along with NBA All-Star Bradley Beal.

So it seems that the front office’s current philosophy could remain intact with this crowd of investors. The team’s current Executive VP & GM, Brodie Van Wagenen has said on multiple occasions that under his leadership, the front office would transition the franchise into a Player’s First Organization.

In fact, his exact words during his introductory press conference from two seasons ago were, “Part of the progressive ideas I have. The GM needs to be visible and needs to have a personal relationship with the players on the team. Obviously I have that with some of them and I look forward to building that with others.”

Therefore, the organization – whether they keep BVW on or not – has already been primed to receive owners with this mentality right away.

In fact, I think one of A-Rod’s potential strengths would be how involved he is in the front office, such as putting together a team of experienced baseball executives much like the front office currently is structured.

The hiring of Allard Baird as VP, Assistant GM, and Scouting & Player Development signaled the start of their investments into the analytics department with new technology and the supplemental hiring of analytics expert Adam Guttridge as assistant GM, for example.

For Rodriguez, it might make sense to keep things running as they are for the most part in the short term as he is evidently of the mindset of a player-first organization.

Plus, conducting a GM search while overhauling the front office in the middle of the Winter Meetings (the time in which a deal is expected to be finalized) would not be conducive to success in 2021.

The Mets could use some additional star power to go along with their young and dynamic pool of current and future MLB stars. And of course, A-Rod would have the added incentive to become a perennial NL East winner – not to be outshined by the Derek Jeter-run Miami Marlin front office.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer – Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment

As the owners of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils – along with their ventures into the English Premier League (Crystal Palace F.C.), the AHL (Binghamton Devils), the NBA G League (Delaware Blue Coats), and their most recent minority stake in the NFL’s Pittsburg Steelers, it doesn’t feel like the New York Mets would be their top priority.

And quite frankly, it also doesn’t appear that they would be any different than the Wilpons despite each of their own billionaire-statuses.

Ask yourselves: what have any of the above franchises won in the last ten, five, or even three years?  In fact, none of their ventures have managed to win a championship nor reach their postseason on a semi-consistent basis.

At least with Steve Cohen comes the potential a massive bankroll (larger than Harris and Blitzer combined) to rival the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers in terms of spending on talent. Even A-Rod brings a unique and tested passion to win as a former 14x All-Star and World Series champion along with his partners’ playing experience.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer on the other hand would not bring anything new or different to the table in terms of winning championships. Plus, it’s already been reported that they’re having money trouble raising cash on hand to put forward their final bid for the organization.

Regardless of which group wins out, there’s no denying that each would be an instant improvement over the Coupons. But in the case of this particular duo, it doesn’t seem like their emergence would be conducive to success in 2021 or the years to follow.

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Who do you think ends up buying the Mets?