New York Mets sale: Steve Cohen to be approved by owners on Friday (Report)

The long wait is over and Steve Cohen is about to leap over his final hurdle. He will become the new owner of the New York Mets on Friday.

Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News is reporting that the owners vote to approve the sale of the New York Mets to Steve Cohen is set for Friday.

BREAKING: MLB owners' vote on Steve Cohen's approval to own Mets expected to come Friday. As of now, he has 1 firm 'no' vote and 2 others on the fence.

How quickly Cohen can begin operations comes down to Bill de Blasio approving transfer of Mets' lease:https://t.co/4TBxY1MQqO

— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) October 27, 2020

The sale is expected to be approved without issue. According to multiple reports, Cohen has at least 25 yes votes secured with more potentially on the way. The only assured no vote is set to come from Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Once the sale is approved, Cohen would normally be allowed to assume control of the franchise. However, he could still be in limbo with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio looking at the sale.

Mayor de Blasio may have the right to deny a sale to Cohen due to his past transgressions during his career as a hedge fund manager. However, Cohen has never been convicted of a felony charge, so it’s unclear if de Blasio has a legal right to deny a sale.

Despite that, de Blasio has publicly stated that he is checking out the deal and that the City of New York will have a say in the sale. It’s unlikely that de Blasio would block the sale, but he could keep it in limbo long enough to hurt the Mets’ chances of hiring a general manager before the offseason gets into full swing.

It’s clear that the Wilpon era is coming to an end and the Cohen era is about to begin. MLB is ready to make the move now, how long will Mayor de Blasio stand in the way?