Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

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Photo: NY Times

Tim Healey of Newsday is reporting that Major League Baseball could vote on Steve Cohen’s ownership of the Mets before the mid-November owners meetings. Healey even used the word, “well-before”, certainly good news giving Cohen more time put his stamp on the organization before free agency.

The report also says that Cohen is expected to get the 23 yes votes needed from other major league owners to become the Mets control person.

The billionaire signed an agreement to purchase the Mets from Sterling Equities on Monday. The agreement was for a $2.475 valuation, a North America sports team record.

Cohen officially getting control sooner could be a huge boost for the Mets offseason as he builds his own front office and structure in the organization. We recently did a roundtable talking about what we believe his first move should be.

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On Monday morning we heard reports that an agreement was going to be signed today. Now that’s happened. We have an agreement.

Tim Healey of Newsday shared full details of the deal, which values the Mets at approximately $2.475 billion. Cohen will own 95% of the Mets. the Katz and Wilpon families will keep the remaining 5%. The deal is now just pending MLB approval.

A press release also went out Monday evening from the Mets which stated:

“The Sterling Partners have signed an agreement with Steven Cohen pursuant to which Mr. Cohen would purchase the New York Mets. The sale transaction is subject to the approval of the Major League Baseball club owners.

‘I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets,; said Mr. Cohen.”

Once Cohen gets approved by MLB owners, which will happen in November at the Owner’s Meeting, he’ll be able to take control over the Mets. Of the 30 MLB owners, at least 23 of them will need to agree in order for approval.

Mets fans, it’s happening. A new era of Mets baseball is about to begin.

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Good Morning, Mets fans!

Michael Wacha (1-2, 7.41 ERA) took the mound for game one of the doubleheader, striking out seven in three innings but allowing four runs. Fortunately, after Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 4.44 ERA) shut the Mets out for the first four innings, the Mets’ bats woke up and bailed the right-hander out, coming from behind to take a 6-4 lead which they ultimately held onto.

The Mets had another comeback win in game two, with Amed Rosario hitting the rare seventh inning, away team walk-off home run to give the club a 4-3 win and a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees, who have now lost seven in a row.

Latest Mets News

Tim Healey of Newsday reports that the Mets claimed OF Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Mets optioned Drew Smith to Brooklyn to make space on the roster for Michael Wacha, who started game one of Friday’s doubleheader, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.

Jacob Resnick of MMO reported that the Mets have added 2019 first-round pick Brett Baty to their 60-man player pool.

Thursday evening, one of the Mets’ Twitter accounts that reports on their minor league teams posted a tweet saying “FIRE MANFRED.” The tweet was immediately deleted but not before Mets Twitter and the New York media could get a screenshot of the post. When asked about the post, the team declined to comment according to Tim Healey of Newsday.

Latest MLB News

The Angels traded Tommy La Stella to the Athletics for Franklin Barreto, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

With the 2020 trade deadline quickly approaching the Padres are among the teams who have contacted the Milwaukee Brewers about Josh Hader, Robert Murray of MLB Insider.

The Yankees released former Met Luis Avilan and selected the contract of Jordy Mercer.

Yordan Alvarez, AL 2019 Rookie of the Year, underwent surgery on both his knees, to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee after recently undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

The Yankees placed Aaron Judge back on the injured list with a low-grade calf strain.

The Reds have acquired RHP Riley O’Brien from the Rays for LHP Cody Reed who was designated for assignment Monday.

Latest on MMO

Sam Lebowitz wrote about the leadership Michael Conforto brings to the New York Mets.

Sal Manzo writes about why sports are so important now.

On This Day in Mets History

Happy Birthday to Noah Syndergaard (29), Anthony Recker (38), Henry Blanco (49), Bill Latham (60), Rusty Tillman (74)!

As always, stay happy, healthy, and safe!

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Tim Healey of Newsday reports that the Mets have claimed outfielder Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the Pirates. He has been optioned to Brooklyn.

Heredia, 29, was 3-for-16 with a stolen base in eight games for the Pirates in 2020. He is a career .239/.317/339 hitter in 1119 major league plate appearances.

The right-hander hitters best season came in 2017 with the Mariners when he posted a 1.3 WAR. Heredia had seven defensive runs saved that season splitting his time between center field and left field.

Heredia has two options left and is arbitration eligible after the season. The left-handed thrower has the reputation as a strong defensive corner outfielder, he has nine defensive runs during his career in right field and eight in left field. However, he has -8 DRS in center.

The Mets 40-man roster now sits at 39 players.

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Good Morning, Mets fans!

The Mets handily defeated the Nationals on Thursday by a score of 8-2, splitting the four-game series. Tonight they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 5-9 Phillies, with none other than Jacob DeGrom on the mound.

Latest Mets News

Former Mets farmhand Matt Purke rejoined his alma mater TCU’s baseball staff.

Newsday sat down and talked to former Met ace Dwight Gooden.

Latest MLB News

The MLB will pay tribute to the Negro Leagues on August 16th, per a press release.

Former Dodger Micah Johnson is doing more with his life than the baseball field, writes Fox 11 LA.

Dodgers’ reliever Joe Kelly had his suspension reduced from eight games to five following a successful appeal, per ESPN and Barstool Sports.

FanGraphs announced a partnership between FanGraphs and Statcast to put Statcast data on FanGraphs.

Latest NL East News

The Nationals promoted top prospect Seth Romero, who pitched against the Mets yesterday, first reported by MLB’s Sam Dykstra

Latest On MMO

Michael Mayer recapped the latest on the Jeff McNeil injury.

Jacob Resnick wrote about the Mets’ alternate site, Brooklyn.

Richard Sparago broke down Robert Gsellman‘s first start in almost three years.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Eric Cammack (45), McKay Christensen (45)

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When Maxwell took a knee, he said the following to reporters: “My hand was over my heart because I love this country. I’ve had plenty of family members, including my father, that have bled for this country, that continue to serve for this country.”

As for his on the field production, Maxwell is not known for being an impactful hitter. In 2017, he hit .237/.329/.333 with 3 homers and an 85 wRC+ over 253 plate appearances. Maxwell’s glove is not great either but the Mets could definitely use catchers with MLB experience. Maxwell played in the Mexican League last year and he hit .325/.407/.559 with 24 homers (but only a 126 wRC+ so it was an offense-heavy league).

Maxwell will probably report to Brooklyn in the coming days (assuming he passes all the protocols). Wilson Ramos, Rene Rivera, and Tomas Nido are the catcher with the Mets currently. Patrick Mazeika, Ali Sanchez, and David Rodriguez are the catchers in Brooklyn.

If anything should happen to Rivera, Nido, or Ramos, it would be a safe assumption that Maxwell would be the next man up.

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Good Morning, Mets fans!

In what’s become an evergreen statement, the Mets didn’t do well yesterday.

Corey Oswalt had his moments in the first three innings, but once he was removed in the fourth, Drew Smith and Chasen Shreve combined to allow feet worth of quarter-mile worth of home runs. Mets were blown out by the Yankees: 6-0

Nevertheless, it feels good to write about live baseball games, again.

Latest Mets News 

Per Charles Gasparino of Fox Business, the “JRod” group is unlikely to buy the Mets. He also claims it’s down to a two-horse race between Steve Cohen and the Harris/Blitzer group, hinting at Cohen being the favorite.

Per Luis Rojas, Wilson Ramos is dealing with a family matter, which explains his absence from the lineup yesterday.

Rene Rivera was added to the Mets’ 40-man roster. Surely, these last two points are surely not related.

Rojas also told the press that Robert Gsellman is dealing with triceps soreness. His status for Opening Day is up in the air.

Jacob deGrom threw 65 pitches in a simulated game and seems poised to take the ball Opening Day.

Tim Healey of Newsday profiled Amed Rosario and his baserunning prowess.

Latest MLB News

Former Met Collin McHugh opted out of the season, citing arm issues.

The Blue Jays placed RHP Chase Anderson on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain.

According to Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds DFA’d Scott Schebler.

Latest NL East News

Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington heard that Nationals outfielder Victor Robles is finally in camp after missing the first couple weeks of Summer Camp.

Latest on MMO

Mathew Brownstein interviewed Isaiah Greene, the Mets’ third selection in the amateur player draft this year.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Charles Johnson (49)

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Per Justin Toscano of The Record, the Mets have placed relievers Brad Brach and Jared Hughes on the injured list.

The Mets did not disclose the reason for either of their placements on the IL, and neither pitcher has appeared in camp thus far. The Mets cannot reveal that it was specifically coronavirus-related unless the player allows them to (as pointed out by Tim Healey of Newsday), but given the circumstances, there is certainly a strong chance that it could be.

As MMO’s own Jacob Resnick pointed out, a player being placed on the COVID-19 IL does not necessarily mean that the player tested positive; it could mean a variety of things, such as that they exhibited symptoms related to COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

The fact that neither reliever has been in camp certainly adds to the suspicion. But for now, all we know for sure is that both Brach and Hughes have been placed on the IL in some form or fashion.

We will keep you updated if any additional details are given.

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Earlier today, the Mets announced that they will allow fans to submit cardboard cutouts of themselves to be placed in Citi Field’s seats. With fans not expected to return to Citi Field until 2021, at the earliest, teams are looking into ways to revolutionize the fan experience in an unprecedented time.

At the time this article was published, there is no website available for fans to submit their pictures.

The Mets haven’t publicized how they will roll-out of the plan, although Tim Healey of Newsday reported that season-ticket holders who have renewed their plans for the 2021 season will receive a complimentary cutout, and can buy others at a discount. Fans who don’t have a season-ticket package will need to pay a to-be-announced fee for their likeness to be present at Citi Field this season.

While the Mets encourage their fans to submit pictures of themselves, they maintain that fans are prohibited from sending in any advertisements, phone numbers, anything involving offensive language, political statements, negative references, or anything of the sort.

With this announcement, the Mets are following the footsteps of other MLB, KBO, and CPBL clubs, all of whom have implemented a similar program. Major-League teams, such as the Brewers and Athletics, plan to have only fans’ cutouts in the stands, but leagues in Asia have expanded their policy to include stuffed animals/Pokemon. Rob Freidman of PitchNinja has popularized the movement by tweeting the highlights of Pokeman in the stands.

Snorlax, MLB Scout. pic.twitter.com/QExvcLUFww

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 26, 2020

While Pokeman in the Citi Field stands is anything more than a pipe dream at this point, it represents the change in thinking of teams’ fan experiences departments as they look towards a 2020 season that will most likely happen without fans.

The Mets will be hosting the Yankees in an exhibition game on July 18th and their homestand of the season will occur on July 24th at 4:10 p.m. against the Atlanta Braves.

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