Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ted Leonsis

AL East Notes: Berti, Leonsis, Orioles, Holliday, Rays

By | at

Jon Berti was the lone member of the Yankees’ ALCS roster that wasn’t included on the club’s roster for the World Series, though beyond tactics, health was the key factor in Berti’s absence.  Manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other media that Berti suffered a flexor strain in his right hip while running the bases in Game 4 of the ALCS.  Berti entered that game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Anthony Rizzo, came around to score what ended up as the game’s winning run, and then played second base in the bottom half of the frame.

“Unfortunately, time ran out for [Berti] to be ready,” Boone said.  “So that’s a blow for us.  I feel for him because he was playing a really important role for us, especially in those first two rounds.”

With Rizzo sidelined by two broken fingers until the ALCS, Berti found himself in the unlikely role of New York’s starting first baseman for two ALDS games against the Royals, and again for Game 3 of the ALCS (with Rizzo on the bench against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd).  Though Berti has carved out a niche as a super-utility player over his seven Major League seasons, he had never before played first base during his entire pro career before taking on the cold corner for this year’s playoffs.  Berti can only watch from the sidelines as his teammates will try to dig themselves out of an 0-1 hole in the Series after yesterday’s heartbreaking walkoff loss.

More from around the AL East…

  • Ted Leonsis looked into buying the Orioles when the Angelos family put the team up for sale, the Washington Post’s Rick Maese write as part of a long profile of the billionaire.  Already the owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, Leonsis was heavily considered as the prime contender to buy the Nationals when the Lerner family announced they were looking into selling the team in April 2022, though the family reversed course last February and said the Nats were no longer for sale.  Leonsis reiterated earlier this year and within Maese’s piece that he remains interested in the Nationals if the Lerners do decide to sell, though it also makes sense that he would’ve at least checked into the Orioles once they came on the market.
  • Jackson Holliday had some success after adopting a toe tap into his swing late in the 2024 season, and the Orioles shortstop told Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun that he’ll now look to continue using this adapted approach next season.  Though Holliday had used the toe-top technique on occasion during his high school days, he gave it another shot while “just messing around in the cage, trying to imitate [Shohei] Ohtani,” but Holliday then felt quite comfortable with his swing.  Holliday hit only .189/.255/.311 over his first 208 plate appearances in the big leagues, striking out 69 times as pitchers took advantage of the big leg kick Holliday used in his old swing.  Obviously it’s too soon to tell if this adjustment might truly unlock something for Holliday, but as he heads into his sophomore season, the sky is still the limit for the first overall pick of the 2022 draft.
  • MLBPA head Tony Clark told reporters (including The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale) that he and the union haven’t yet heard from the league about any plans for the Rays’ playing future, as Tropicana Field was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton.  Assessment of that damage is still taking place, but since the Rays will surely have to spend at least the start of the 2025 season in a new home ballpark, plenty of options have already been floated as interim locales.  As Clark noted, the players’ union “do not have a hand in the facility.  We don’t have a hand in the move.  We have a hand in what’s called effects bargaining: How are players affected by the league’s decision?  At the end of the day, if the decision puts players in harm’s way, it depends on what harm’s way means.”  This would mean making sure everything involved in a new ballpark is up to Major League standards, as several minor league stadiums and Spring Training facilities are under consideration for the Rays.

Ted Leonsis Expresses Continued Interest In Purchasing Nationals

By | at

The long-term future of the Nationals has been in question for the past few years. The Lerner family announced in April 2022 they would look into selling the franchise. Within a few months, it became clear that Ted Leonsis — CEO of Monumental Sports and owner of the NHL’s Capitals and NBA’s Wizards — was the frontrunner.

Talks between the Lerners and Leonsis fizzled out, largely because of uncertainty regarding the Nats’ television rights deal. The Lerners were reportedly seeking around $2.5 billion back in 2022. The family announced this February they were no longer interested in selling the team. That seemingly put the matter to rest, but Leonsis told Scott Allen, Barry Svrluga and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post on Tuesday that he’s planning to put another proposal on the table at some point.

“I’ve told employees; I’ve told the Lerner family: ‘We are very interested. And we will figure out the right time and place to come with a thoughtful, dignified, real offer,” Leonsis said. “And they can say yes, they can say no. They can say, ‘We want to keep the team.’”

Leonsis can’t force the Lerners to sell, of course. However, the Post reports that the Lerner family may be willing to again entertain offers for the franchise after the 2024 season. While previous discussions haven’t been fruitful, it’s possible the ownership change on the other side of the Beltway Series will make a sale of the Nats more viable.

The primary complication to the Nationals changing hands has long been the team’s contentious TV contract with the Orioles. The franchises jointly own the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with the O’s holding a larger share. If Leonsis had agreed to a deal with the Lerners, he’d likely have tried to work out an arrangement with the Orioles to buy out of the MASN deal. Longstanding acrimony between the franchises made that difficult to envision so long as the Angelos family was in control of the Orioles. New Baltimore owner David Rubenstein has publicly expressed a desire to reach an agreement with the Nats to resolve the MASN dispute.

Whether that happens remains to be seen. There’s no indication anything is imminent on that front, and it appears Leonsis is willing to be patient in putting together a new offer for the Nats. “The Nationals and the Lerner family have said the team is not for sale, right? It’s not a formal process. And that is true,” he told the Post. “So there’s obviously no rush by them. They’re enjoying the season, right?” It’s nevertheless a situation worth keeping an eye on over the coming months.

Lerner Family No Longer Pursuing Sale Of Nationals

By | at

The Lerner family is no longer pursuing a sale of the Nationals, Mark Lerner tells Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. “We have determined, our family has determined, that we are not going to sell the team,” Lerner said, adding that the decision was made “a while ago.”

It was almost two years ago, in April of 2022, that Lerner first revealed that the club would be exploring the possibility of a sale. “Nothing has really changed,” Lerner said today. “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.”

In the interim, it seemed like little progress was made towards the club changing hands. In late 2022, it was reported that their dispute with the Orioles over the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network was something of an obstacle. When the Montreal Expos were moved to Washington and into the territory of the O’s, the former club’s TV rights were given to the latter club. The two clubs jointly own MASN but the O’s having a larger share.

TV revenue is a significant factor in the finances for a baseball club, as has been quite clear this winter. The ongoing bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group has put a dent in the spending capacity of various clubs throughout this offseason. The Nats are at a disadvantage in that department as they don’t have control over their own rights and have been battling the O’s over MASN revenue for years.

As of about a year ago, the reporting still indicated that little progress was being made in terms of selling the Nats. The most likely buyer, Ted Leonsis, owns NBC Sports Washington and likely wanted to put the club on that channel. But the aforementioned complications would make that difficult and seemed to stall the possibility of anything getting done.

It recently seemed possible there was some light at the end of the tunnel with the developments surrounding the Orioles. The Angelos family, who have owned the O’s since 1993, recently agreed to sell the club to a group led by David Rubenstein. That group is going to also acquire the Orioles’ share of MASN if the deal is ultimately approved by Major League Baseball. Some observers speculated that Rubenstein might sell MASN to Leonsis. It was also reported that the league could make the O’s give up the Nationals’ TV rights as part of approving the sale, though it’s unclear if they had any intent to do so. That arguably opened a path for a sale of the Nats to become unclogged but it seems that won’t be coming to fruition, with the Lerner family deciding to hold on.

Now that the Lerners are sticking around, questions will be raised about the club’s path forward. Despite winning the World Series in 2019, the club’s fortunes turned after that and they have been in a deep rebuild for a while now. They traded Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the 2021 deadline and then Juan Soto one year after that. That’s naturally led to modest activity in recent offseasons but they’ve been fairly quiet even by the standards of a rebuilding club.

Last year, they mostly gave out one-year pacts to bounceback candidates like Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith, though they did give a two-year pact to Trevor Williams. This winter, the activity has been even more muted, with their $5MM deal for Joey Gallo the biggest expenditure of the winter. General manager Mike Rizzo recently stated that the club was unlikely to make any more moves of significance.

It had been assumed by some observers that the lack of activity was a reflection of the fact that the club was for sale. The Lerner family could have used the fairly clean payroll outlook as an attractive feature to market to prospective buyers, offering interested parties a chance to put their own stamp on the future of the franchise. Now that the sale is not happening, the spotlight will turn back on the Lerner family and how they plan to get the Nats out of their recent slide. They have finished below .500 in the past four seasons and most projection systems calculate them as likely to be one of the worst clubs in the league in 2024.

Latest Details On Sale Of Orioles

By | at

The baseball world got a shocking development this week when it was reported that the Angelos family would be selling the club to an investment group led by David Rubenstein. The next day, the club confirmed the agreement with an announcement of the $1.725 billion sale.

Details continue to trickle out about the deal, with Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner looking backwards to the club’s negotiations with the State of Maryland. The Orioles and state officials were in contact for much of last year. The club’s lease of Camden Yards was set to expire after 2023 and the two sides took talks down to the middle of December before a new lease was approved.

There were plenty of speed bumps along the way. It was in early December that it was initially reported that Rubenstein was in talks to purchase the club. That seemed to delay the lease talks, with state senator Bill Ferguson expressing trepidation about giving out land development rights to an organization with an unclear ownership structure. The land development rights were part of the talks because John Angelos was reportedly attempting to leverage the negotiations into getting public land for a mixed-use project, combining Camden Yards with commercial and residential spaces.

Per Wood’s report, Angelos did not give Governor Wes Moore or other state officials any kinds of heads up about the sale agreement. Treasurer Dereck Davis said that Angelos “categorically denied that that they were for sale” before selling the team. “It wasn’t just that we weren’t told something. We were lied to,” Davis said.

“The transparency that was required — it was not there,” Gov. Moore said. “And it’s disappointing.”

“I do think that John’s behavior displayed an incredible lack of respect for the state and our role in working with the Baltimore Orioles and our role as the owners of the home of the Baltimore Orioles,” comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, although, frankly not surprising.” Despite the harsh words, it seems state officials suspected something was up and proceeded accordingly. “That said, we crafted an agreement in such a way that it would not matter who owned the Orioles because I think many of us believed that the Angelos family’s days as owners were numbered anyways,” Lierman said. “It was important for us to protect the state and taxpayers and our assets, no matter who the owners are.”

Though the two sides did eventually get a deal done, Angelos did not get the land he craved. The 30-year agreement does give the club a chance to opt out after 15 years if they don’t get a development deal within the next four years. Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic also reported on the sale this week, relaying that some people in baseball believe that the lack of a land deal was part of what motivated Angelos to sell. On top of that, the family is also looking to improve its liquidity. Rosenthal and Ghiroli relay that they are looking to sell various assets, including One Charles Center, a 22-story office tower in Baltimore.

Going forward, the sale still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball. The owners are having a scheduled meeting next week but Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the sale is not on the docket. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest it will likely take months for the league to conduct background checks on everyone in the ownership group. Per Wood and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner, the full group includes New York businessman Michael Arougheti, his partners Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke, Washington Spirit majority owner Michele Kang and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill.

There’s also the future of the MASN issue to be considered. The Orioles and Nationals share ownership of the network, which has the broadcast rights for both clubs, with the O’s currently owning 76% of the network but dropping to 67% by 2032. Those details were worked out as part of the agreement to move the Expos from Montreal to Washington almost 20 years ago. As a compromise for moving a club into Baltimore’s territorial range, the O’s got control of the Nationals’ TV rights and the two sides have been disputing the finances of that arrangement for quite some time.

The Lerner family has been trying to sell the Nats for almost two years now, announcing in April of 2022 that they would explore the possibility. There’s been little apparent progress towards a deal, however, with reporting from about this time a year ago suggesting the MASN dispute was a key factor. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest that Rubenstein might sell the O’s share of MASN to Ted Leonsis, with some in the industry expecting that to eventually happen.

Leonsis owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, as well as the Monumental Sports Network, which broadcasts those three clubs. Getting the Orioles’ TV rights could enhance the programming options for Monumental. It was reported in November of 2022 that the Lerner family was hoping to get $2.5 billion in selling the Nats but the TV rights situation was preventing them from getting to that price point. Rosenthal and Ghiroli report today that Leonsis had offered $2.2 billion. It’s unknown whether Leonsis acquiring Baltimore’s MASN share would impact any future negotiations with the Lerners.

All told, there will be plenty of domino effects worth watching out for as the situation progresses.

NL Notes: Cease, Braves, Nationals, Hampson, D’Backs

By | at

The Braves are known to have trade interest in Dylan Cease, and given the team’s penchant for signing players to long-term extensions, locking up a Georgia native like Cease would seem like a logical next step if a deal can be worked out to obtain the righty from the White Sox.  However, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal points out a possible obstacle — Cease is represented by Scott Boras, who traditionally advises his clients to test free agency rather than sign long-term extensions.

Enough high-profile Boras clients have signed extensions that this isn’t at all a hard-and-fast rule, since as Rosenthal notes, Boras will ultimately operate according to his client’s demands.  But it is perhaps noteworthy for this particular scenario, since Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos rarely acquires Boras Corporations clients, even though both Anthopoulos and Boras have denied any lack of communication or lack of connection between the two sides.  Trading for and extending Cease would be a way of putting this narrative to bed, though it remains to be seen if Atlanta will instead opt for another frontline pitcher besides Cease as the Braves continue to look for rotation help.

More from the National League…

  • Not much has changed in the Lerner family’s attempts to sell the Nationals, as the search is now approaching two full years since news first broke of the Lerners’ explorations about a sale.  The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes provides something of an update on the situation, though Ted Leonsis remains the top suitor but still seems unwilling to meet the Lerners’ desired price of around $2.4 billion.  Leonsis’ last offer topped the $2 billion mark, but the Lerners don’t appear in any hurry to make a sale unless Leonsis or another bidder ups the ante.  The seemingly neverending dispute with the Orioles about MASN broadcasting revenues also still remains a sticking point in any ownership discussions.  In terms of how this translates to the on-field product, Janes notes that the Nationals’ low payroll has more to do with the team’s rebuild strategy than it does a concerted effort to cut costs in advance of a potential sale.
  • The Diamondbacks had some interest in Garrett Hampson before the utilityman signed with the Royals earlier this week, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  The versatile Hampton would’ve been a backup at several positions off the bench, and in particularly been a right-handed hitting complement to Alek Thomas or Geraldo Perdomo at center field or shortstop, respectively.  Right-handed hitting is a priority for the D’Backs in general, and Piecoro suggests that J.D. Martinez might be a candidate for a return to Arizona, based off GM Mike Hazen’s recent comments about how the Diamondbacks could be open to a DH-centric player who swings from the right side.  Arizona has already landed one notable right-handed bat this offseason in acquiring Eugenio Suarez from the Mariners.
  • Sticking with the National League champs, the Diamondbacks named Shaun Larkin as their new director of player development earlier this week.  Larkin has spent the last three seasons as the Dodgers’ field coordinator as part of an eight-year tenure in L.A., and he previously had a long history as a minor league player, coach, and manager in Cleveland’s farm system.  Larkin’s hiring is the latest move in a D’Backs offseason that has seen quite a bit of turnover in the front office and coaching ranks, though as Hazen told Piecoro, “we 100 percent expected it.  This is what happens when you have a successful season….Bringing some outside perspectives into the organization in terms of what’s going on in scouting and player development around the game, I think is important.”

Nationals’ Sales Process Still Not Near Resolution

By | at

The Nationals have been on the market for a good portion of the past year. The Lerner family first announced in April they were looking into sale possibilities for the franchise. Subsequent reports suggested the family was hopeful of completing the process by the early-December Winter Meetings.

That obviously did not happen, and it doesn’t seem a resolution is imminent. The Talk Nats blog reported Tuesday afternoon that negotiations were not close to the finish line. That aligns with their reporting from late November, when Talk Nats wrote the franchise’s uncertain local broadcasting situation related to the ongoing MASN dispute was keeping the Lerners from settling on an agreeable price point with the Ted Leonsis group that had emerged as the frontrunner in discussions.

TV rights remain the biggest issue in the Washington sale. As part of the relocation efforts to move the franchise from Montreal to Washington nearly two decades ago, MLB (which owned the Expos/Nationals at the time) agreed to tie its local broadcasting rights to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. MASN is jointly owned by the Nats and Orioles, but the Orioles’ ownership share is roughly 77% while the Nats own around 23%. That agreement, a condition of the franchise’s relocation into the Orioles’ geographic territorial rights, caps the Nationals’ TV revenue by making it impermissible for them to sell broadcasting rights to a regional sports network.

Leonsis owns NBC Sports Washington and would almost certainly prefer to broadcast Nationals games on that network if he took control of the franchise. Doing so would require negotiating a way out of the MASN contract with the Orioles, though, and it’s not clear whether the Baltimore organization has any interest in doing so. MLB has gotten involved in an attempt to broker a settlement between the franchises, but there’s no indication they’ve made progress to this point.

Uncertainty about future local TV revenues is an obvious concern for a possible buyer. Against that backdrop, it’s now a real question whether the Lerner family will sell a majority stake at all. Talk Nats suggested it’s possible the Lerners pivot to selling a minority share of the franchise. Chelsea Janes and Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post echoed that sentiment this evening, writing that the Lerners now seem likelier to take on a minority partner than sell the franchise entirely. Nothing has been formally decided. Both Talk Nats and the Washington Post suggest possibilities range from no change in the ownership structure at all to a deal of a minority share or a sale of the controlling stake coming together.

Janes and Svrluga suggest a middle ground may be to sell a minority share with a path to that buyer taking over majority ownership down the line. The Dolan family took that tack with the Guardians last summer, immediately selling roughly 25-30% of the franchise to David Blitzer in a deal that reportedly gives Blitzer the option to purchase majority control six years thereafter.

It’s an ongoing saga that obviously hasn’t resolved as the Lerner family had envisioned. There are still myriad possibilities that’ll hang over the franchise for as long as this process remains up in the air. The franchise is amidst a full rebuild and ran out the worst team in the majors last season. They’ve made a few short-term free agent investments this winter, bringing in Dominic Smith, Corey Dickerson, Jeimer Candelario and retaining Erasmo Ramírez on one-year contracts worth a combined $10.25MM. Their biggest investment of the offseason was a two-year, $13MM pact for starter Trevor Williams.

Roster Resource projects the franchise’s player payroll around $104MM. That’s $31MM south of last season’s Opening Day figure. It’d be the franchise’s lowest season-opening payroll since 2012, although it’s possible GM Mike Rizzo and his staff have some more spending room to add another veteran target or two to supplement a young roster.

Latest On Nationals’ Sale Negotiations

By | at

Hanging over the past seven months of Nationals business has been the Lerner family’s efforts to find a buyer for the franchise. Ted Leonsis, whose Monumental Sports & Entertainment owns the NBA’s Wizards, NHL’s Capitals and WNBA’s Mystics, had emerged as the favorite in those discussions in recent weeks.

While that might still be the case, the Talk Nats blog reported over the weekend the sides remain divided on a price point. Talk Nats suggests there’s some pessimism about the possibility of Leonsis finalizing a purchase of the franchise imminently, if at all. To be clear, there’s no suggestion the Lerners and Leonsis are on the verge of calling off talks, but it seems there’s still a notable gap to bridge in negotiations.

The primary stumbling block, as has been the case throughout the sale process, seems to be the franchise’s uncertain TV rights outlook. As part of the relocation efforts to move the franchise from Montreal to Washington nearly two decades ago, MLB (which owned the Expos/Nationals at the time) agreed to tie its local broadcasting rights to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. MASN is jointly owned by the Nats and Orioles, but the Orioles’ ownership share is roughly 77% while the Nats own around 23%. That agreement, a condition of the franchise’s relocation into the Orioles’ geographic territorial rights, caps the Nationals’ TV revenue by making it impermissible for them to sell broadcasting rights to a regional sports network.

Leonsis owns NBC Sports Washington and would almost certainly prefer to broadcast Nationals games on that network if he took control of the franchise. Doing so would require negotiating a way out of the MASN contract with the Orioles, though, and it’s not clear whether the Baltimore organization has any interest in doing so. MLB has gotten involved in an attempt to broker a settlement between the franchises, but there’s no indication they’ve made progress to this point.

Hanging over the potential negotiations is an acrimonious past between the Orioles and Nats that hasn’t been resolved. Disputes about the Nationals’ share of TV rights led to litigation that has been pending for nearly a decade. In 2019, an arbitrator ruled the network owed the Nationals around $105MM in unpaid rights fees. MASN appealed that decision, and the appeal has still yet to get on the docket for the New York Court of Appeals.

While Leonsis purchasing the franchise still seems well within the range of possibilities, it doesn’t appear a resolution is coming in the near future. The Washington Post wrote in August the organization was hopeful of completing the sales process by November. That certainly isn’t going to happen, and it seems an open question whether a solution will be known by the time the calendar turns to 2023. It’s hardly an ideal situation for general manager Mike Rizzo and his staff to construct their roster this offseason, although the Nats look likely to be relatively quiet regardless after firmly committing to a rebuild with the Juan Soto trade over the summer.

Latest On Nationals’ Sales Process, MASN Deal

By | at

As the Lerner family continues to explore a sale of the Nationals, the franchise’s ongoing dispute with the Orioles over television rights fees looms. Major League Baseball has renewed its efforts to try to broker an agreement between the franchises, write Barry Svrluga, Chelsea Janes and Ben Strauss of the Washington Post. The Talk Nats blog first reported last month that MLB was getting involved in trying to bring the sides together.

As both the Washington Post and Talk Nats have covered during the sales process, the TV rights dispute presents a fair bit of uncertainty for prospective Nationals buyers. As part of the relocation efforts to move the franchise from Montreal to Washington nearly two decades ago, the Nationals agreed to tie their local broadcasting rights to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. MASN is jointly owned by the Nats and Orioles, but the Orioles’ ownership share is roughly 77% while the Nats own around 23%. That agreement, a condition of the franchise’s relocation into the Orioles’ geographic territorial rights, caps the Nationals’ TV revenue by making it impermissible for them to sell broadcasting rights to a regional sports network.

The Post notes the original agreement expressly stipulates that the Nationals’ obligations under the MASN deal would carry over in the event of a sale of a franchise. Thus, the unfavorable TV situation is a key consideration for those in discussions with the Lerners.

That’s all the more true in light of recent movement on that front. As Talk Nats and the Post have each reported, a group led by Ted Leonsis now appears to be the frontrunner in the sales process. Leonsis’ Monumental Sports & Entertainment also owns the NHL’s Capitals, the NBA’s Wizards and the WNBA’s Mystics, as well as having full control of NBC Sports Washington. Finding a way to broadcast games on NBCS Washington figures to be a key objective for Leonsis if his group eventually purchases the Nats, but they’d need to negotiate a settlement with the Orioles to buy out of their end of the MASN agreement to do so. Whether the Baltimore franchise would have interest in such an arrangement isn’t clear.

Of course, there’s a strong interest on MLB’s part in facilitating some kind of settlement. Both Talk Nats and the Post have suggested the TV rights uncertainty has slowed down the sale process, and it raises some questions about the franchise’s price point. The league would prefer to see the Nationals sold for a high price (and, to a lesser extent, to expedite the process). The Lerner family has reportedly sought around $2.5 billion.

Hanging over the potential negotiations is an acrimonious past between the Orioles and Nats that hasn’t been resolved. Disputes about the Nationals’ share of TV rights led to litigation that has been pending for nearly a decade. In 2019, an arbitrator ruled the network owed the Nationals around $105MM in unpaid rights fees. MASN appealed that decision, and the appeal has still yet to get on the docket for the New York Court of Appeals.

Interestingly, while an eventual sale to Leonsis still appears to be the likeliest outcome, one person familiar with the process tells the Post a number of paths remain possible. That source suggests the Lerners could still retain majority control in the long run, or perhaps bring in a minority owner initially with a longer-term path to majority ownership. (As an example of that sort of arrangement, the Guardians agreed to a sale in June that sees incoming buyer David Blitzer purchase roughly 25-30% of the franchise initially but have the right to purchase majority control six years down the line).

As the parties try to iron through the TV deal and potential sale, the Nationals’ on-field product is coming off an MLB-worst 55-107 season. They’re firmly amidst a rebuild and have cut back payroll dramatically. The franchise has approached $200MM on player payrolls in the past, but Roster Resource calculates their 2023 expenditures (including arbitration estimates) around $98MM. Svrulga, Strauss and Janes write that a few of the team’s baseball operations staffers have expressed some uncertainty about the organization’s spending capacity and overall direction this winter. Both manager Dave Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo will stick around, at least, with the club picking up 2023 options on each this past summer.

Ted Leonsis’ Group Emerging As Front-Runner In Nationals’ Ownership Sale

By | at

Six months ago, the Lerner family announced they were exploring the possibility of a sale of the Nationals. As the offseason nears, some clarity has emerged on that process. David Aldridge, Britt Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic write that a group led by businessman Ted Leonsis is now the “clear front-runner” to eventually take over the Nationals. The Talk Nats blog first reported in late September the Leonsis group had broken through as the most likely party to buy the Nats.

Leonsis is already a key factor in the D.C. sports scene, as his Monumental Sports & Entertainment owns the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals and the WNBA’s Mystics. (The Lerners are a minority owner in that venture). Landing the Nationals would give Leonsis control over the D.C. franchises in three of the four major men’s sports leagues, The Athletic notes, a distinction currently only held by the Kroenke family that owns the Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. Leonsis isn’t mounting a solo ownership bid, however. The Washington Business Journal reported in August that private equity businessman David Rubenstein is also part of the group; it is unclear whether anyone else is involved.

Previous reports have also linked South Korean businessman Michael B. Kim and mortgage mogul Stanley Middleman to the sales process. There were reportedly upwards of five bidders in talks with the Lerner family at one point, but The Athletic reports that Leonsis’ group seized control roughly a month ago.

While it appears that Leonsis and company are now in the driver’s seat to push the deal across the finish line, the closing of the sale isn’t imminent. Aldridge, Ghiroli and Rosenthal hear the sale isn’t likely to be finalized before the December 4-7 Winter Meetings in San Diego. That appears to be the more optimistic end of the timetable, as The Athletic writes it’s possible the sale isn’t finished until after the calendar flips to 2023.

As The Athletic notes, Leonsis also controls his own regional sports network, NBC Sports Washington. Monumental Sports & Entertainment had previously purchased 33% of NBC Sports Washington, and it bought out NBCUniversal’s 67% share this past August. Not coincidentally, NBC Sports Washington holds the local broadcasting rights to Capitals, Wizards and Mystics games.

The Nationals’ local broadcasting contract currently runs through the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which it shares with the Orioles. The Orioles own approximately 75% of the network, while the Nationals own the remaining share. The two franchises have been embroiled in rights fees litigation for the better part of a decade. The Washington franchise won a major victory in 2019 when an arbitrator ruled the Orioles owed the Nats $105MM. The Baltimore organization appealed that decision, and the matter has still yet to be decided by the New York State Court of Appeals.

While The Athletic notes it’s unclear how or if the sale of the Nationals would affect the MASN dispute, Talk Nats tweeted in August that Leonsis’ group would be interested in reaching a settlement with the Orioles to buy out of the MASN deal. If that did come to pass, the Nationals would presumably then be broadcast on the NBC Sports Washington platform. That’d obviously be a complicated process that requires negotiations with the Orioles, but it does seem to offer a glimmer of hope for a resolution to the saga.

The Lerner family first bought the Nationals in 2006, paying $450MM. The specific prices under consideration in their sale aren’t clear, but Daniel Kaplan of the Athletic wrote last month they were seeking $2.5 billion.

Latest On Potential Sale Of Nationals

By | at

Ted Leonsis has emerged as a potential suitor in the ongoing sales process involving the Nationals, according to a report from Barry Svrluga, Ben Strauss and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Leonsis’ Monumental Sports & Entertainment is already a major factor in the D.C. sports scene, owning the NBA’s Wizards, the NHL’s Capitals and the WNBA’s Mystics.

According to the Post, Leonsis is one of a few potential buyers granted access to the Nationals financial data. He’s not making a run at sole ownership, however; Drew Hansen of the Washington Business Journal reports that David Rubenstein, a private equity businessman, is part of the group with Leonsis. It isn’t clear who else is involved with Leonsis and Rubenstein.

The Leonsis group becomes the third known potential suitors for the Nationals. Since the Lerner family announced in April they were exploring the possibility of a sale, the Post has reported that South Korean equity mogul Michael B. Kim and mortgage executive Stanley Middleman have each met with Nationals personnel. Whether Leonsis and Rubenstein have also formally met with Nationals executives yet isn’t known. The Post has reported that at least five potential bidders have met with the Lerners in recent weeks, so it’s not a given that any of the three publicly-known suitors will wind up submitting the winning bid.

The Lerner family has stopped short of making a firm declaration it’d pull the trigger on a sale, although it’s generally expected they’ll do so. The Post writes that the process could be finalized shortly after the conclusion of the season, with potential ratification of a sale taking place at the owners meetings in November. The Nationals are one of two franchises that could soon change hands, as Angels owner Arte Moreno announced yesterday he was looking into the possibility of selling the Anaheim organization as well.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top