Alex Rodriguez Reportedly 'Fuming' over 'Fixed' Mets Sale

Former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is reportedly "fuming" after losing out on his bid to buy the New York Mets to Steve Cohen. 

Josh Kosman and Thornton McEnery of The New York Post report those in Rodriguez's circle called the sale "fixed".

Per Kosman and McEnery:

"Sources close to the former Yankees slugger say they lost the Queens team on Friday, Aug. 28 after the Mets’ banker—Steve Greenberg of Allen & Co.—reached out to ask for a sneak peek at what was being offered. The request came days ahead of the official Aug. 31 bidding deadline.

"A-Rod—who has been vying for The Amazins with his superstar fiancee Jennifer Lopez—reluctantly complied with the request only to learn later that same day that the Mets were in exclusive deal talks with Cohen."

Cohen's final bid for the team came in at $2.35 billion—$50 million more than Rodriguez's group offered—and the former infielder appears suspicious of how the financier reached that number. 

Kosman and McEnery report Rodriguez is "convinced" the Mets leaked his offer and other competing bids to Cohen so the New York mogul could come in with a higher offer. 

The Wilpon family, which currently owns the team, previously set an Aug. 31 deadline for final bids before announcing they had entered into exclusive negotiations with Cohen on Aug. 28. Cohen has been working to purchase the team for the last year and has been a minority owner of the Mets since 2012. 

The New York Post spoke with Steven Smith, a managing partner at law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner with expertise in sports franchise negotiations, to understand how the exclusive deal could come together before the previously agreed upon deadline.

“It’s not normal but things like this do happen,” Smith said. “In the end, the sellers’ goal is to get the highest price for the team.”

Neither the Mets nor Cohen would offer comment to The New York Post on the issue.

Major League Baseball could reject the sale to Cohen and open the door for Rodriguez to try gaining control of the team again, but those odds aren't in his favor. 

It's unclear where Rodriguez will look next as he attempts to become an MLB owner.