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New York Mets: Wilpon family still looking to sell

By David Hill

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 24: New York Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon and Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer Fred Wilpon listen in as Luis Rojas is introduced as the team's new manager at Citi Field on January 24, 2020 in New York City. Rojas had been the Mets quality control coach and was tapped as a replacement after the newly hired Carlos Beltrán was implicated for his role as a player in 2017 in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 24: New York Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon and Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer Fred Wilpon listen in as Luis Rojas is introduced as the team's new manager at Citi Field on January 24, 2020 in New York City. Rojas had been the Mets quality control coach and was tapped as a replacement after the newly hired Carlos Beltrán was implicated for his role as a player in 2017 in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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In what should be good news for New York Mets fans, the Wilpon family is still looking to sell the franchise.

Just two months ago, it appeared as though the long standing nightmare of New York Mets fans would be over. The Wilpon family was set to sell the franchise to minority owner Steve Cohen, theoretically giving the Mets something resembling stability. However, as they demanded to have control of the team for five more years, despite no longer owning it, that sale was canceled.

After that canceled sale, it appeared as though the fans would be stuck with the Wilpon’s for the foreseeable future. The coronavirus epidemic has essentially caused everything to screech to a halt, including the 2020 baseball season and any roster moves.

In theory, that would have also caused the Mets to postpone a search for a new owner. Instead, the Wilpon family is still looking to sell the franchise, and have even backed off of their request to continue to control the team after the sale.

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Given the current epidemic, there are obvious hurdles to overcome. Meetings to discuss the sale would be more difficult to manage, even though they could take place through video conferencing. And, considering the current economic downturn, financing such a sale would be even more difficult.

Nonetheless, this is an opportunity to own an intriguing team in the media capital of the United States. There is plenty of star power on the team, with Jacob deGrom fronting the rotation and wunderkind Pete Alonso emerging as one of the possible faces of the game. It is a team built to win, and to win now.

All that is potentially missing is an owner that is willing to match that commitment. That has been the biggest issue with the Wilpon family – they would spend, but they were not quite willing to go that extra mile to make the team a potential postseason juggernaut. The Mets, despite the talent on the roster, are still a flawed team.

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But that may come to an end soon enough. The New York Mets are still on the block, and with any luck, the fanbase will not have to deal with the Wilpon’s much longer.

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