Steve Cohen’s New York Mets baseball team hired Bloomberg Media Chief Executive Officer M. Scott Havens as president of business operations.
The team said in a statement that Havens would be responsible for all front-office functions except baseball, “shaping the future of the franchise, driving financial success, and continuing to build on the Mets reputation.” He will report to billionaire Cohen after starting the job in January.
Havens, 51, joined Bloomberg LP in 2015 to aid the media division’s digital transformation. He was previously senior vice president of digital at Time Inc., and president at The Atlantic.
“The opportunity to join the Mets organization is a lifelong dream fulfilled,” Havens said in the Mets statement. Bloomberg Media is a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
In September, the team hired former Milwaukee Brewers executive David Stearns as president of baseball operations.
The changes follow a disappointing season that began with high hopes. The team finished with a losing record even after inking expensive contracts with some of Major League Baseball’s top talents, including pitcher Justin Verlander. They failed to make the playoffs despite an opening day payroll of more than $330 million, the highest in baseball.
The Mets could make more deals as the team seeks to right the ship. Along with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they’re considered among the front-runners to sign Japanese superstar and free agent Shohei Ohtani, who bats and pitches. He’s expected to receive one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history.
Off the field, hedge fund manager Cohen, who bought the Mets for more than $2.4 billion in 2020, is lobbying to build an $8 billion casino and entertainment complex with Hard Rock International on a 50-acre parking lot next to Citi Field stadium in Queens.