The Nats are...For Sale?!?

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

...don't forget the Del Ray Go-Go!

Strange things are going on these days in the Baltimore/Washing sports.
- The Caps and Wizards are trying to move to Virginia

[Senatorswin]

...don't forget the Del Ray Go-Go!

I don't know what the Del Ray Go-Go is.

[Five Banners]

Speaking of the person must been discussed as a potential buyer, what a great look on the week his lobbyist hit Richmond for a payout to be stylin’ in GQ about the perks of being a sports owner:

https://www.gq.com/story/how-to-buy-a-pro-sports-team

“You have such a position in your city,” he said, “you hold the psyches of a community in your hand.”

How about that whole part about playing the psyche on one side of the community for $600 million, then switching the ask to another side of it, potentially pitting each side against the other as a result?

[Senatorswin]

Bezos needs to buy the Nats and tell the Dodgers, Yankees and everyone else there's a new sheriff in town.

[hotshot]

Bezos needs to buy the Nats and tell the Dodgers, Yankees and everyone else there's a new sheriff in town.

Where would Leonsis' net worth of $2.8 Billion dollars place him in regard to other team owners? I know the Lerner family net worth is $6.4 Billion and both are dwarfed by Bezos' $193 Billion.

Steve Cohen had a rough start but I'll opt for a megabucks owner any day and like my chances at getting a competitive product on the field.

[Senatorswin]

Where would Leonsis' net worth of $2.8 Billion dollars place him in regard to other team owners? I know the Lerner family net worth is $6.4 Billion and both are dwarfed by Bezos' $193 Billion.

Steve Cohen had a rough start but I'll opt for a megabucks owner any day and like my chances at getting a competitive product on the field.

This is from December 29,2021:

Angels: Arturo Moreno – $3.6 billion. (Forbes link)
Astros: Jim Crane – $1.4 billion. (Forbes link)
Athletics: John Fisher – $2.6 billion. (Forbes link)
Blue Jays: Rogers Communications, chairman Edward Rogers III – $11.5 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Braves: Liberty Media, chairman John Malone – $8 billion. (Forbes link)
Brewers: Mark Attanasio – $700MM. (L.A. Times link)
Cardinals: William DeWitt Jr. – $4 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Cubs: Ricketts family – $4.5 billion (Forbes link)
Diamondbacks: Ken Kendrick – $600 million. (L.A. Times link)
Dodgers: Guggenheim Baseball Management, controlling partner Mark Walter – $5 billion. (Forbes link)
Giants: Charles B. Johnson – $5.8 billion. (Forbes link)
Guardians: Dolan family – $4.6 billion. (L.A Times link)
Mariners: John Stanton – $1.1 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Marlins: Bruce Sherman – $500MM. (L.A. Times link)
Mets: Steve Cohen – $15.9 billion. (Forbes link)
Nationals: Lerner family – $4.9 billion. (Forbes link)
Orioles: Peter Angelos – $2 billion (L.A. Times link)
Padres: Peter Seidler – personal net worth unknown, Seidler Equity Partners estimated net worth of $3 billion. (ESPN link)
Phillies: John Middleton – $3.4 billion. (Forbes link)
Pirates: Bob Nutting – $1.1 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Rangers: Ray Davis (co-chairman with Bob R. Simpson) – $2.2 billion. (Forbes link)
Rays: Stuart Sternberg – $800MM. (L.A. Times link)
Red Sox: John Henry – $3.6 billion (Forbes link)
Reds: Robert H. Castellini – $400MM. (L.A. Times link)
Rockies: Richard L. Monfort – $700MM. (L.A. Times link)
Royals: John Sherman – $1.25 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Tigers: Ilitch Holdings – $3.8 billion (L.A. Times link)
Twins: Pohlad family – $3.8 billion (Forbes link)
White Sox: Jerry Reinsdorf – $1.7 billion (Forbes link)
Yankees: Steinbrenner family – $3.8 billion (Forbes link)

[hotshot]

Thanks for the research. So, Ted's 2.8 billion looks maybe more competitive in comparison to other owners' wealth than I might have thought.

In the end, best case is still, imo, silly money and a free spender. If you aren't a spender, doesn't really matter what you have. The Lerners are 2-3x as wealthy as Ted but ...

[Slateman]

Lol, Castellini is a freaking scrub

[hotshot]

Lol, Castellini is a freaking scrub

He's a fruit and veg "magnate" in Cinncy. The front man for what I suspect is a large investor group; he only owns 20% of the club at most. One of their other investors is the owner of the locally-famous Skyline Chili product.

The Reds are at the opposite pole from Steve Cohen.

[welch]

This is from December 29,2021:

Angels: Arturo Moreno – $3.6 billion. (Forbes link)
Astros: Jim Crane – $1.4 billion. (Forbes link)
Athletics: John Fisher – $2.6 billion. (Forbes link)
Blue Jays: Rogers Communications, chairman Edward Rogers III – $11.5 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Braves: Liberty Media, chairman John Malone – $8 billion. (Forbes link)
Brewers: Mark Attanasio – $700MM. (L.A. Times link)
Cardinals: William DeWitt Jr. – $4 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Cubs: Ricketts family – $4.5 billion (Forbes link)
Diamondbacks: Ken Kendrick – $600 million. (L.A. Times link)
Dodgers: Guggenheim Baseball Management, controlling partner Mark Walter – $5 billion. (Forbes link)
Giants: Charles B. Johnson – $5.8 billion. (Forbes link)
Guardians: Dolan family – $4.6 billion. (L.A Times link)
Mariners: John Stanton – $1.1 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Marlins: Bruce Sherman – $500MM. (L.A. Times link)
Mets: Steve Cohen – $15.9 billion. (Forbes link)
Nationals: Lerner family – $4.9 billion. (Forbes link)
Orioles: Peter Angelos – $2 billion (L.A. Times link)
Padres: Peter Seidler – personal net worth unknown, Seidler Equity Partners estimated net worth of $3 billion. (ESPN link)
Phillies: John Middleton – $3.4 billion. (Forbes link)
Pirates: Bob Nutting – $1.1 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Rangers: Ray Davis (co-chairman with Bob R. Simpson) – $2.2 billion. (Forbes link)
Rays: Stuart Sternberg – $800MM. (L.A. Times link)
Red Sox: John Henry – $3.6 billion (Forbes link)
Reds: Robert H. Castellini – $400MM. (L.A. Times link)
Rockies: Richard L. Monfort – $700MM. (L.A. Times link)
Royals: John Sherman – $1.25 billion. (L.A. Times link)
Tigers: Ilitch Holdings – $3.8 billion (L.A. Times link)
Twins: Pohlad family – $3.8 billion (Forbes link)
White Sox: Jerry Reinsdorf – $1.7 billion (Forbes link)
Yankees: Steinbrenner family – $3.8 billion (Forbes link)

Leonsis would look poor after he had to pay something for the Nats. Sure, he would borrow, but not all of the price. The Steinbrenner family is worth $3.8 billion, but they already own the Yankees. Same with Ricketts and the DeWitt families, and the Lerners.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-two-rubensteins/

This is longish but worth a read for two reasons:
1) Baumann
2) while the impetus for the article is speculation about what type of owner Rubinstein will be, it has a great discussion of the types of owners as well as how and why they run teams the way they do.

It's the latter point that kind of tells you about the Lerner ownership both during the Ted era as well as Marky Mark and the In-laws.

Now, because baseball as a business generates some $10 billion a year, those rewards are rich enough for owners to pay their (admittedly enormous) labor costs, put some in the bank, and to reinvest a big chunk of change into improving the team. A healthy team with a competent owner will find room to do all three. These teams are such bulletproof investments that even an incompetent owner will have no problem at all finding financing or, in the worst case, a buyer who will take the team off their hands for a handsome profit.

But an incompetent owner, or worse, an inattentive or disinterested one, will take in all the revenue from fans, all the labor generated by the players, and hoard it. Major league payroll will stagnate, facilities and infrastructure will be neglected, scouting and analytics departments will fall behind the times, and the team will lose 90 games a year.
...
Rubenstein is a fascinating ownership candidate because his background points to two extremes. The engaged, committed local businessman is the absolute best type of sports owner. But the private equity billionaire is the worst, not just for a sports team, but for any company.

With Ted, we had the former, sort of. With the current group, the latter, most likely. I don't think the Lerners put much additional capital into the team after buying it.  The team covered the debt service out of team revenue. I don't know whether they operated at a loss, and Ted definitely was the local guy who wanted to win and build a local institution. I think current group is cut costs and hope to soak the local following enough to profit.

[Dave in Fairfax]

But an incompetent owner, or worse, an inattentive or disinterested one

[varoadking]

So Mini-Me announces that the Lerner family is no longer marketing the team...for sale.  Or otherwise, apparently...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/19/nationals-sale-lerner-family/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA4MzE4ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA5NzAxMTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDgzMTg4MDAsImp0aSI6IjMyMTZhOTkwLWRiYjktNDdiYS05OGJmLWY1ODI5ZjBjZGQ1MyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvMjAyNC8wMi8xOS9uYXRpb25hbHMtc2FsZS1sZXJuZXItZmFtaWx5LyJ9.-o8py2xsN9-fF_gw5bIk6GZZCmSyMhJWZHlKMWTVpI8&fbclid=IwAR1O1xQBfv4IW0x8kF3bb5Y5DnuKt4sHOufAVCXtmWf4_KwZOiD3ibAdZx8

[PowerBoater69]

“No. We have determined, our family has determined, that we are not going to sell the team,” Lerner said. “Nothing has really changed, We’ve just decided that it’s not the time or the place for it. We’re very happy owning the team and bringing us back a ring one day.”

Words of iron or double tongue?

[varoadking]

Words of iron or double tongue?

(Image removed from quote.)

One look at the roster should provide clarity..

[Natsinpwc]

Seems like an F Troop operation.

We are doomed. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

So Mini-Me announces that the Lerner family is no longer marketing the team...for sale.  Or otherwise, apparently...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/19/nationals-sale-lerner-family/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA4MzE4ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA5NzAxMTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDgzMTg4MDAsImp0aSI6IjMyMTZhOTkwLWRiYjktNDdiYS05OGJmLWY1ODI5ZjBjZGQ1MyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvMjAyNC8wMi8xOS9uYXRpb25hbHMtc2FsZS1sZXJuZXItZmFtaWx5LyJ9.-o8py2xsN9-fF_gw5bIk6GZZCmSyMhJWZHlKMWTVpI8&fbclid=IwAR1O1xQBfv4IW0x8kF3bb5Y5DnuKt4sHOufAVCXtmWf4_KwZOiD3ibAdZx8

Marky Mark and the In-Laws are reuniting for a Victory Tour.

[HalfSmokes]

It reminds me of the Bowden years minus the excitement of a new team. They’re going to put out a 100 loss team with no recognizable names and blame transient fans when no one shows up

[IanRubbish]

Not surprising seeing that they were hoping for $3 billion.  The Orioles going for just $1.7 billion put an end to those dreams.

Still a sad day for the franchise.

[PowerBoater69]

It reminds me of the Bowden years minus the excitement of a new team. They’re going to put out a 100 loss team with no recognizable names and blame transient fans when no one shows up

Bowden would have Trevor Bauer starting opening day.

[hotshot]

Not surprising seeing that they were hoping for $3 billion.  The Orioles going for just $1.7 billion put an end to those dreams.

Still a sad day for the franchise.

Agree on the sad day aspect. If Ted was gonna be the buyer, though, its really not that sad. If and when the franchise is sold, need it to be to a mega-wealthy buyer who can and will spend. Leonsis is not that guy.

[Senatorswin]

Agree on the sad day aspect. If Ted was gonna be the buyer, though, its really not that sad. If and when the franchise is sold, need it to be to a mega-wealthy buyer who can and will spend. Leonsis is not that guy.

Maybe by the time Lerner is ready to sell Bezos will have gotten tired of hanging out on his yacht with his girlfriend and buy the Nats for a new toy.

[Vega]

So I take a look at what has been going on with the Nats and I see bad new uniforms, Joey Gallo, and no sale. Oh goodie.

[Mattionals]

So I take a look at what has been going on with the Nats and I see bad new uniforms, Joey Gallo, and no sale. Oh goodie.

Not great, right?

[Slateman]

Eh, if the Lerners are like this next offseason, I will abandon all hope.