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Report: Steve Cohen Back In The Bidding For New York Mets

(CBSNewYork)- The New York Mets sale has been attracting plenty of big names over the course of the last few months. Now, the bidding is reportedly seeing the return of the man everyone thought had previously agreed to buy the team: billionaire Steve Cohen.

According to the New York Post, the 64-year-old Cohen is set to once again bid on the team just five months after his $2.6 billion deal for the franchise fell apart in February. Cohen is already a minority owner of the team, holding eight percent of the franchise and he grew up a Mets fan.

In the Post's report, it appears that Cohen has been monitoring the recent bidding for the team and is "fully aware" that he is the only bidder who can offer close to the $2 billion valuation placed on the franchise by the current ownership group.

When the deal fell apart back in February, it was reported that the Wilpons wanted to have a five-year transition period in which Jeff Wilpon would maintain control of the team. After the deal failed to close, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred sided with the Wilpons saying at the owners' meetings "the assertion that the transaction fell apart because of something the Wilpons did is completely and utterly unfair."

The Wilpons still intended to sell the team which has led to reports of various interested parties over the last several months. The first round of bids are expected to be submitted this week with the hope that the franchise finds a buyer by October 1st. Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino reported early on Monday that the first round of bids were expected to be "weak" and that Cohen was unlikely to join.

The Post's reporting would seem to indicate that the expected "weak" bids may be what draws Cohen back into the bidding for the franchise.

Meanwhile, the Mets schedule for the shortened 2020 season was released on Monday night with the team set to begin their season on July 24th against the Atlanta Braves.

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