Uncle Steve to the Rescue: Cohen’s Bid to Buy Mets Approved

I have written countless blogs on this topic so congratulations on making it all the way through with me. As of yesterday (Friday 10/30) afternoon, Steve Cohen was approved by MLB owners and New York City as the new owner of the Mets. Mets fans all around the country were rejoicing.

“Steve Cohen is the new owner of the New York Mets” #LGM pic.twitter.com/qkUDYXI4qn

— We Gotta Believe Podcast (Fri, iTunes & Spotify) (@GottaBelievePod) October 30, 2020

The Mets now have the richest owner in baseball and it is not even close. Cohen has a higher net worth than the next four richest owners combined. What can Mets fans expect with Uncle Steve at the helm?

Charitable Donations

Steve Cohen has already started giving back as owner. In his first act ad owner, Cohen as pledged to donate $17.5 million to local small businesses. He also promises to “dramatically increase the giving of the Mets Foundation in the coming years.”

As his first act as Mets owner, Steve Cohen says in a statement that he plans to donate $17.5 million to NYC small businesses, and "dramatically increase the giving of the Mets Foundation in the coming years."

He is also reinstituting all pre-pandemic salaries for Mets workers.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 30, 2020

Cohen is a life long Mets fan and pledges to continue to build up the communities around Citi Field.

Analytics

The Mets have been very behind the game when it comes to analytics. They reportedly have the second smallest analytics department in the entire MLB. Under Cohen, that will change drastically. The Mets will be right up there with the Rays, Dodgers, and Yankees when it comes to analytics. New team President, Sandy Alderson is the perfect guy to oversee the change. Alderson was the Mets GM from 2010-2018 and heavily embraced the idea of analytics as GM. The Mets now have the financial resources to invest in the proper equipment and department size to compete with the top of the league.

Free Agency

Now let’s get into what every Mets fan has been talking about. The Mets now have the financial means to compete for the elite free agents each offseason. That does not mean they will be handing out huge deals left and right. However, when the moment is right, they can compete with the Yankees and Dodgers for the top dogs in free agency. For example, they will be in the conversation for guys like JT Realmuto, Trevor Bauer, and George Springer. However, they may be more players in the second tier and then splurge on a guy like Nolan Arenado next offseason. Free agency starts tomorrow so look for the Mets tp be players right from the get go.

Final Thoughts

This was a historic day for the Mets franchise. The Wilpons were holding the team back and the best thing they did for the Mets was sell them. Obviously, there are still a lot of things that need to work out for the Mets to be true contenders. It took the Dodgers years (and a shortened season) to finally get to the top, but Cohen is the right guy to get them there. With Cohen, the Mets are a brand new franchise that will look to compete at the top for years to come.

-Pete Chatterton (@Pchat12)