Steve Cohen, the Mets’ deep-pocketed owner, has brought key employees from his $24 billion hedge fund to moonlight in the MLB team’s front office — and their number-crunching strategies are paying off, according to a report.
Some of Cohen’s top executives from Point72 Asset Management, including chief technology officer Mark Brubaker and head of tax Steve Canna, are likewise listed as executives at the Mets. The team also employs Point72’s head of human resources, data solutions, and data engineering in the same roles, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Point72 has also loaned out other employees to fill in for spot duty whenever specific projects arise with the Mets, according to the paper.
Cohen has been paying his moonlighting employees extra out of his own pocket in hopes of revamping the Mets’ data and analytics operations, the report said.
A source told the Journal that since Cohen bought the team two years ago for $2.4 billion from the Wilpon family, the number of people working in data and analytics has grown from eight full-time workers to 35 — several of whom are from Point72.
The Mets are also relying more on analytics-driven information to help with player development and other aspects of running the baseball team, the Journal reported.
“They have been an exemplar for us of what constitutes best-in-class, which is Steve’s aspiration for the Mets,” said Mets President Sandy Alderson.
“It’s raised the bar for us.”
The strategy appears to be working so far. The Mets have a record of 20-10 through the first month of the season, good enough for first place in the National League East.
Point72 has made an effort to ease concerns from investors that Cohen’s Mets-related duties are distracting him and his top executives from their regular day jobs.
The Journal reported that several investors were either unhappy about the split duties or were not even aware that it was going on.
Some of them even withdrew their investments from Point72, which has $24.4 billion in assets under management, after Cohen bought the Mets because they feared it would take his focus away from the hedge fund, according to the Journal.
But Cohen’s chief of staff, Michael Sullivan, said that the boss continues to work seven days a week and “hasn’t missed a day of trading” since buying the Amazins in 2020.
“No Mets-related costs are passed through to P72 investors in any way,” Point72 spokeswoman Tiffany Galvin-Cohen told the Journal.
Cohen, 65, has endeared himself to Mets fans, who affectionately refer to him on Twitter as “Uncle Steve” for his free-spending ways.
The hedge fund billionaire, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be at around $17.4 billion, has vowed to spare no expense in an effort to bring a World Series title to Flushing. The Mets have not won the World Series since 1986.
During the offseason, the Mets acquired three-time Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Max Scherzer, signing him to a whopping three-year, $130 million contract. Scherzer’s $43.3 million salary this season is the highest among all Major League Baseball players.
Last season, Cohen made another splash, signing star shortstop Francisco Lindor to a massive 10-year, $341 million contract. The Mets under Cohen now have the second highest payroll in MLB behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
