"They took the bids and showed them to Cohen” - Former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez was frustrated over allegedly 'fixed' sale of New York Mets to Steve Cohen during club's 2020 buyout
In 2020, the "Ain't Your Mama" singer Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were engaged, and the power couple tried to purchase the New York Mets. The former New York Yankees slugger was clearly furious after hedge fund manager Steve Cohen defeated him in a bidding war to buy the MLB team.
Cohen, founder of the hedge fund Point72 Asset Management, outbid Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez to acquire the New York Mets for around $2.5 billion.
After finalizing the massive deal, Steve said:
"Here, it’s really about building something great, building something for the fans, winning. I just find this an amazing opportunity. I’m not trying to make money here. I have my business at Point72 and I make money over there.”
However, Alex was disappointed with the loss because it meant his goal of owning the Mets was dashed.
According to the New York Post, Steve Cohen reached out to know the offered price days before the official bid deadline. Alex and Jennifer cooperated with the request. However, without giving A-Rod and Lopez a chance to raise their offer, the Mets and Cohen held private negotiations later that day.
Per a source from A-Rod's circle, the New York Mets revealed the price-related information to Steve Cohen so that he could make the largest offer and secure the franchise.
“They took the bids and showed them to Cohen."
Alex Rodriguez fuming over 'fixed' sale of Mets to Steve Cohen, sources say trib.al/F7YDpn3 https://t.co/CDhEdrI3pd
"Alex Rodriguez fuming over 'fixed' sale of Mets to Steve Cohen." - New York Post
In July 2022, Rodriguez revealed his ambitions for the Mets had he successfully purchased the team.
Alex Rodriguez had lot of plans for New York Mets
For the first time in 1.5 years, Alex opened up about his blueprint for the New York Mets if he had won the bidding war.
Alex Rodriguez Reveals Vision had he Purchased New York Mets si.com/mlb/mets/news/…
"Alex Rodriguez Reveals Vision had he Purchased New York Mets." - Pat Ragazzo
On The New York Post's baseball podcast "The Show," Alex first appreciated the sync between his and Steve Cohen's thought processes:
“It’s good to know that (Cohen and I) had a lot of similar thoughts in thinking about analytics and leadership.”
He added:
“Buck Showalter was gonna be my guy. David Cone would’ve been my pitching coach. I would’ve definitely had Al Leiter involved.”
In May 2022, rumors surfaced that A-Rod was interested in buying the Miami Marlins, but those were later reported to be false.
Currently, A-Rod is a co-minority owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.