The owner of the New York Mets, Steve Cohen, will have some additional funds to fulfill his record-breaking deal with the star outfielder Juan Soto.
Cohen has agreed to vend the Triple-A team of the franchise, the Syracuse Mets, as well as the High-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH) for an unspecified amount. DBH, operating several minor league teams connected with Major League Baseball, will retain both teams within the Mets’ minor league system. These teams are now part of their Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, which DBH had acquired in April.
The deal involving the minor league teams was closed with the parent company Cohen Private Ventures shortly after the Mets secured the 15-year, $765 million contract with the former Yankees star Soto, the most lucrative in professional sports history. Despite the transaction, the Mets, boasting the highest payroll among all MLB teams last season at over $314 million, will retain the existing front office staff and management teams for both minor league clubs. Additionally, both clubs will continue to operate from their current venues, with the Mets based at NBT Bank Stadium and the Cyclones at Maimonides Park on the Coney Island boardwalk.
DBH, which began acquiring minor league teams following the controversial reorganization of Minor League Baseball, is expanding its portfolio, now owning 38 teams in the minor leagues, including 13 Triple-A affiliates. The exact financial implications for the Mets from this transaction remain unclear; however, the Atlanta Braves received approximately $47 million when they sold their three minor league teams to the former owner of DBH, Endeavor, in 2022. In the same year, Endeavor divested its 10 minor league teams to the private equity firm Silver Lake, which has substantially increased its team count ever since.
Image Source: SNY @ YouTube
