New York Mets sale: Jeff Wilpon not involved in sale talks (Report)

Final bids to purchase the New York Mets are due Monday, and reports are Jeff Wilpon hasn’t been and won’t be involved in the process.

According to Thornton McEnery and Josh Kosman of the New York Post, New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon is not part of the ballclub’s sale process. Only Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, and Allen and Co. are involved in the sale.

The move to remove the younger Wilpon from the process stems from his involvement in the failed deal with Steve Cohen earlier this year. Jeff and Cohen have a contentious relationship, to say the least.

Their dislike for one another can be traced back to the five-year window. When the Mets planned on selling to Cohen earlier this year, the deal included a five-year window in which Jeff would be the sole controller of baseball operations. Cohen rejected that, among other requests from the team’s COO. This eventually tanked the deal.

There are no preconditions to a deal at this time. The removal of Jeff from the process seems to indicate that the highest bid will win, which would make Cohen the clear cut favorite ahead of Monday’s deadline.

However, he’s not the only bidder with deep pockets. McEnery and Kosman additionally report the group headed by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez will also bid north of $2 billion.

It’s unlikely J-Rod’s group will be able to outbid Cohen and his $14 billion net worth. With that said, if they get close enough, it could be worth a discussion with MLB and the other owners.