Mets Sale to Cohen is Dead, Could Still Sell in Auction Style

Hours after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred cast a pessimistic shadow on a potential sale and two days after the New York Post‘s original report of the deal falling apart, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported on Thursday evening that the proposed sale of the New York Mets to billionaire hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen is “dead, completely kaput”.

Cohen, 63, agreed to purchase 80 percent of the ballclub in December for $2.6 billion. The hedge-fund manager is worth $13 billion

On Thursday afternoon, the Post confirmed that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon’s insistence on keeping “total operational control” of the Mets during the originally agreed-upon five-year “transition period” and continuing to serve in a “senior role within the organization even after Cohen took over” was a breaking point in negotiations.

Heyman noted in his tweet that the Mets “are expected to open up the sale in a more typical fashion” following the fallout of the Cohen deal. He also alluded to possible MLB ownership approval issues for the Long Island native.

We’ll keep you posted with more information as it becomes available.