MLB Formally Approves Mets Sale to Steve Cohen; DeBlasio Backs Off

 It's officially time to party Mets fans!! 

Major League Baseball has formally approved the sale of the franchise to billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen for $2.4 billion. Cohen, who is the CEO of Point72 Asset Management is worth close to $14 billion. 

While the vote tally was not released right away on Friday afternoon, it didn't take the owners long after their 1:30 meeting commenced for word to trickle out through Twitter that the vote was taken and Cohen approved. 

About 30 minutes later, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio tweeted that the City Law Department had conducted and completed its review of the sale, and finds no objection to Cohen purchasing the team. The decision by DeBlasio comes a mere 36 hours after a story was published in the New York Post that said the Mayor had expressed to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred that he did not want to see Cohen purchase the team. 

The Mayor's office reiterated that was not the case and the call was just to express the City was looking into the lease agreement. 

The lease agreement states that no sale should go through were the new owner a convicted felon. Cohen was never convicted nor charged in the SAC Capital Insider Trading scheme from 2013. 

Still there was a belief that DeBlasio would try to block the sale. There was even concern that there was an underlying political motivation from the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Jenniefer Lopez who failed in their bid for the team when negotiating with the Wilpon's. 

With Cohen now front and center as the 95% shareholder in the Mets, things are going to change around here. 

For starters Cohen is expected to finalize the re-hiring of Sandy Alderson as the team's new President of Baseball Operations. Job security for other members of the baseball front office, namely GM Brodie Van Wagenen is in question. 

With deeper pockets, many expect the Mets to be players for top free agent talent beginning this winter. The Mets need immediate help in center field, left field, catcher, starting pitching and bullpen to name a few.