Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Billionaire Steve Cohen, who purchased majority ownership the Mets franchise last week for about $2.4 billion, said he has a three- to five-year window for a World Series run.
Cohen, the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball, finalized his acquisition Friday and spoke to reporters Tuesday. He pledged to improve the team this off-season through trades and free agency and "act like a major market team" en route to those acquisitions.
"I'm not in this for a short-term fix," Cohen said at his introductory news conference. "I don't want to be good one year and bad three. I want to be good every year. That's the goal, and the team I want to build.
"If we don't win [a World Series] in the next three to five years, I'd consider that slightly disappointing."
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The Mets went 26-34 last season and failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The National League East franchise hasn't won a World Series since 1986.
The Mets lost to the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees in their last two World Series appearances in 2015 and 2000, respectively.
Cohen, 64, is a Great Neck, N.Y., native and grew up as a Mets fan. He oversees Point72 Asset Management, a $16 billion hedge fund, and has a net worth of $14.6 billion, according to Forbes.
He became a minority owner of the Mets in 2012.
Cohen has been active in dialogue with Mets fans on Twitter since he acquired the team. He also shuffled the team's front office, which included hiring former Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, who was named team president.
"We want to be thoughtful about it," Cohen said of his strategy to improve the Mets. "We're in an unusual market today given COVID where we're starting to see a lot of players maybe offloaded because of financial concerns, and I think Sandy and I want to take advantage of that.
"So I think there will be lots of opportunities. I think teams are going to want to talk to us, and we'll see what's available."
Cohen said he will let his front office handle the baseball personnel decisions for the team.
Alderson said he spoke to Mets manager Luis Rojas on Monday and told him it's "very likely" he will return to lead the team in 2021. He also said he "left the door slightly ajar" for the team's future president of baseball operations to decide if he wants to retain Rojas.