Alex Rodriguez ‘Fuming’ Over Losing Bid To Buy New York Mets, Reportedly Thinks Process Was Fixed

Alex Rodriguez is reportedly “fuming” at losing his bid to buy the New York Mets, with a report claiming the former baseball star believes that the process was fixed in favor of Long Island billionaire Steve Cohen.

The New York Post claimed that sources close to Rodriguez said he was angry that Cohen was able to get a “sneak peek” of what his competitors were offering for the Mets ahead of the bidding deadline of August 31. After complying with a request from the franchise’s banker for information about how much his group was prepared to pay, Rodriguez later learned that their competitor was already in exclusive talks with the current ownership to purchase the Mets.

As the report added, Cohen had been offering $2.35 billion, just above the $2.3 billion offer from the consortium that included Rodriguez, fiancee Jennifer Lopez, and a number of other investors. Rodriguez believes that the team passed along information about his group’s bid to the Long Island billionaire so he could top their offer.

The former Yankees star believes he could have still purchased the Mets had he been given the same opportunity, the report noted.

“But A-Rod’s camp contends the 14-time All-Star would have considered raising his offer if he had been given the chance,” the New York Post reported. “A bidding war, sources contend, might have resulted in an extra $100 million for the New York team.”

As The Inquisitr reported, both Rodriguez and Lopez expressed disappointment over losing out on the chance to buy the Mets. Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal noted on Twitter — in a tweet seen here — that Rodriguez’s group put out a statement saying they had been hopeful about being part of larger plans to revitalize the metro area and are disappointed at having to drop out.

“The consortium said that they are disappointed to not be a part of the revitalization of New York City and provide an exhilarating experience for the fans and wish the Wilpon family and the entire Mets organization well,” the statement read.

Cohen’s bid would still need approval from MLB owners, and there are reportedly other details still in the works before the deal can come to fruition. He had originally been close to finishing a deal to purchase the Mets that fell apart earlier this year.

As SNY reported at the time, the billionaire said he was disappointed that the plans fell through but planned to regroup and come back with another push to purchase the Mets.