LATimes: Former Dodgers bidder could take chance with Padres

If you can’t buy ‘em, beat ‘em. That could be the motto for Steven Cohen, the hedge-fund billionaire and runner-up in the bidding for the Dodgers.

The San Diego Padres are up for sale, and Cohen is thought to be one of at least five potential buyers cleared by Major League Baseball to review the team’s confidential financial data.

Cohen already owns a small stake in his hometown New York Mets, but the majority owners of the Mets appear to have staved off the legal and financial distress that might have enabled Cohen to buy them out completely. Forbes estimates Cohen’s net worth at $8.3 billion.

Peter O’Malley and his family also are interested in the Padres.

The Padres are expected to be sold by the end of the season, leaving a new owner to try to bridge the widening gap between the cuddly little Friars and the newly capitalized Dodgers.