MLB owners expected to vote for Cohen on Friday

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball owners are expected to vote Friday on Steve Cohen’s approval to take over the Mets from Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz, according to people familiar with the situation. Cohen needs to acquire at least 22 out of 29 votes of approval. Just two owners were on the fence with one firm ‘no’ vote as of Tuesday, per sources.

The clock is ticking for New York City mayor Bill de Blasio to do his part in approving Cohen. If he waits any longer de Blasio can seriously harm Cohen’s offseason plans, including acquisitions of soughtafter free agents.

The owners’ vote, which is expected to go Cohen’s way, is the final hurdle from MLB that can signal a transfer of power.

However, de Blasio still needs to sign over the Mets’ lease agreement with New York City.

The city plays a role in an ownership change because of the land Citi Field is on. The mayor commented on the transfer of the lease during his Monday morning press conference. De Blasio implied he would be moving forward very soon.

“This is something our Law Department is evaluating right now, and we obviously want to get to a resolution on this very quickly,” de Blasio said Monday. “The Law Department’s doing its due diligence right now. So, I’ll be getting a report from them soon. And it will just be based on the facts of the research they’ve done. And then we’ll speak to that again very quickly.”

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.