Alderson was green-lighted to clean house in the front office and erase the core of the previous regimeGETTY IMAGES
Mets President Sandy Alderson accepted a return to the team "under the condition that he would have control of, among other things, shaping baseball operations as he desired," according to sources cited by Joel Sherman of the N.Y. POST. Thus, it was "not surprising" that the news of Steve Cohen definitively becoming Mets Owner Friday was followed a few hours later by a press release revealing that GM Brodie Van Wagenen "was out and so were his main lieutenants." If Alderson was to "return with power, no way were Van Wagenen and his main associates -- Allard Baird, Jarred Banner and Adam Guttridge -- going to survive." Alderson "never seemed overly comfortable with how tight" Special Assistant to the GM Omar Minaya was with former Mets Control Person & CEO Fred Wilpon. Word was that Cohen "had an affinity for Minaya," therefore, that Minaya also was part of this "purge screams at the power Cohen has invested in Alderson, who will now assemble a baseball operations department to his comfort" (N.Y. POST, 11/7). In N.Y., Mike Puma noted Friday’s purge "wasn’t unexpected to many in the Mets’ organization," given that Van Wagenen, Baird, Guttridge and Banner were "all imported following Alderson’s resignation" as GM in '18 (N.Y. POST, 11/8).
REAL POWER: On Long Island, David Lennon noted full autonomy was "always something of an inside joke during Alderson’s previous stint with the Mets." In Flushing, the title of GM "carried the appearance of a buck-stops-here position," but that authority was "on a very short leash, with COO Jeff Wilpon holding the other end." But now, under Cohen’s ownership, Alderson "truly wields the hammer." It is one thing to "pledge full autonomy," but "what happened Friday was the real deal." Alderson was "green-lighted to clean house in the front office -- keeping only" Senior VP & Senior Strategy Officer John Ricco. Alderson's move to "coldly erase the core of the front office was in direct contrast with the smiley-face and rainbow emojis Cohen had been dispatching since getting cleared by the owners." Lennon: "Tough break for Van Wagenen & Co., but in the grand scheme, from a Mets standpoint, Alderson's hostile takeover of baseball operations -- and the consolidation of that power -- has to be considered a positive development" (NEWSDAY, 11/7). THE ATHLETIC's Ken Rosenthal wrote it was as if Alderson was "conducting a symphony celebrating not only the organization’s freedom from the Wilpons but also his intent to do the job as he saw fit, something Fred, Jeff and company would not allow during his tenure as general manager from 2010 to ’18, no matter how much they insisted otherwise" (11/6).
FANS' ADVICE: In N.Y., Deesha Thosar noted Cohen "took to Twitter to ask fans what they want him to do." His message was "clear: how can the wealthiest owner in baseball improve the Mets franchise?" Cohen received "nearly 7,500 responses -- and they’re still going." One fan tweeted to Cohen, “Hire smart people in every area (which may include people already in the building).” Cohen’s response "received over a thousand likes and sent Mets fans into an added frenzy." Cohen wrote, “Hire them smarter than you. That has worked for me in the hedge fund biz.” Cohen "plans to bring what he’s learned outside of the baseball field into his first major-league front office" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/8).
BREAKING DOWN OWNERSHIP STAKES: On Long Island, Tim Healey noted Cohen, who is taking on the titles of Chair and CEO, "owns nearly 95% of the team, up from his previous 8%." A source said that "his wife, Alexandra Cohen, and his business partner, Andrew Cohen (no relation), also have small ownership stakes." The Wilpons and Katzes "retain the other 5%." Cohen "will continue to run his hedge fund," Point72 Asset Management, which is based in Stamford, Conn. Andrew Cohen "will take on the title" of Vice Chair and "keep his seat" on the Mets’ BOD. Including their "passive minority stake," the Wilpons will remain "tangentially involved with the club but won’t have any actual decision-making power." They "still have a controlling interest in SportsNet New York, which they "reportedly are open to selling," and "own the rights to develop some of the land around Citi Field" (NEWSDAY, 11/7).
