Rumors for December, 2010
How AL West owners made their money
Posted by: | Comments
Just like my buddy Allan, I too want to own a baseball team, although it doesn’t have to be a Major League Baseball team. My dream, actually, is to own the “Tiburones de La Guaira”, a baseball team from Venezuela.
Now, to continue the search of how Major League Baseball team owners made their money, I’m going to analyze the American League West division.
Los Angeles Angels
Owner: Arturo “Arte” Moreno
Net Worth: $970 million
Source of wealth: Billboards and advertising
2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $521 million
Moreno started his career with Eller Outdoor advertising company in 1973 and eventually teamed up with William Levine, founder of Outdoor Systems in 1984. He became the company’s president and CEO. He sold Outdoor Systems to Infinity Broadcasting in 1999 for $8.7 billion in stock.
Before acquiring the Angels he attempted to buy the Arizona Diamondbacks, but a deal could not be reached. In 2003, he purchased the Los Angeles Angels from The Walt Disney Company for $180 million.
Oakland Athletics
Co-owner: John Fisher and Lewis Wolff
Net worth: Combined net worth of $1.1 billion (according to Forbes.com)
Source of wealth: GAP and real estate
2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $295 million
Fisher: Parents Donald and Doris founded Gap as a San Francisco jeans and music store in 1969. The Fisher empire has more than 3,000 locations which also includes the Banana Republic (1983), Gap Kids (1986) and Old Navy (1994).
Wolff: Long history of sports ownership. In addition to the A’s, he also owns the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League soccer. In the past he has been the co-owner of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association.
The two purchased the Athletics in 2005 for $180 million from Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann.
Texas Rangers
General Partner/ CEO/ Owner: Charles “Chuck” Greenberg
Net Worth: unknown
Source of wealth: Sports Industry Attorney
The Rangers were recently sold for $585 million.
After law school, Greenberg began his law career in his hometown of Pittsburgh as an associate and then partner at Cohen & Grigsby P.C., where he practiced for 13 years. In 1998, he joined Pepper Hamilton LLP as a corporate and sports attorney and a partner in the Pennsylvania-based law firm
In 2002 Greenberg formed and led an ownership group that purchased the Double-A Eastern League Altoona Curve, a minor league baseball team in Pennsylvania. On August 5, 2010, Greenberg Sports Group won court approval to purchase the Texas Rangers.
Seattle Mariners
Owner: Nintendo (under the president Hiroshi Yamauchi)
Net worth: $85 billion (Yamauchi’s net worth is approximately $7.8 billion)
Source of wealth: Selling video hardware and software
2010 Forbes Franchise Valuation: $439 million
Nintendo was founded as a card company in late 1889 and was originally named Nintendo Koppai. The handmade cards soon became popular, and Yamauchi hired assistants to mass produce cards to satisfy demand. Nintendo continues to manufacture playing cards in Japan.
Nintendo’s first venture into the video-gaming industry was securing rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey video game console in Japan in 1974. Only in 1977 did Nintendo begin to produce its own hardware, with the Color TV Game home video game consoles. Four versions of these consoles were produced, each including variations of a single game (for example, Color TV Game 6 featured six versions of Light Tennis).
Nintendo purchased the Mariners in 1992 for $100 million, but Yamauchi, then president of Nintendo, purchased the team without ever watching a Mariners game. He lives in Japan, but does not like to travel long distances.
Johnny Damon Rumors: Angels, Rays and Yankees interested
Posted by: | Comments
Looks like the market for free agent outfielder Johnny Damon is heating up. In an article by Josh Alper of AOL FanHouse, he mentions that that the Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are interested in Damon.
Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes that Damon is not a good fit for the Yankees because they already have a lot of lefties in their lineup. Olney suggests that the Yankees could go after Jeff Keppinger, who is being shopped by the Houston Astros. Keppinger posted an OPS of .810 against left-handed pitchers during the 2010 season.
While we’ve already heard the Yankees and the Rays are interested in the outfielder for various reasons, the Angels are new to the equation. Alper opines that Los Angeles is the best fit since they have the money and they need help on offense. The team has recently been linked to Scott Podsednik and were spurned by Carl Crawford, so they’re motivated to fill their outfield need.
Yesterday, Ken Davidoff of Newsday reported the Yankees had multiple conversations with Damon. Today, in an article by Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com, the team’s GM, Brian Cashman, downplayed their interest in the outfielder.
During the Winter Meetings in early December, Damon expressed interest in signing with the Rays. He would be a candidate to fill the vacant left field spot that became available when Crawford left.
Marlins officially sign Nolasco to a 3-year, $26.5MM deal
Posted by: | Comments
According to Joe Capozzi of the The Palm Beach Post, the Marlins have officially signed right handed pitcher Ricky Nolasco.
Earlier this week, Juan Carlos Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel reported that the Marlins and Nolasco had an agreement in principle to a three-year deal worth $26.5 million.
Joe Frisaro of MLB.com added that Nolasco’s deal will include bonuses of $500,000 per season, or $1 million total based on innings pitched.
The sides were believed to be at a stalemate in contract talks as late as Friday morning, but Nolasco’s agent, Matt Sosnick, responded to the reports and said that his client would like to remain in Florida and is hopeful an agreement can be reached.
Nolasco, 28, was 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA in 26 starts this year with the Marlins.
Rockies sign Salazar, Macri and Hulett to Minor League deals
Posted by: | Comments
According to player development director Marc Gustafson (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com), the Colorado Rockies have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar and infielder Matt Macri and Tug Hulett to Minor League deals.
Salazar, 30, is a career .232/.335/.349 hitter with the Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Macri, 28, played 18 games for the Minnesota Twins in 2008 where he hit .324 (11 for 34) with one home run.
Hulett, 27, played 45 career games with the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. He hit .194/.270/.254 in 67 career at-bats.
Yankees had internal discussions about Manny Ramirez
Posted by: | Comments
According to a Tweet posted by Jack Curry of the YES Network, he says the New York Yankees had internal chats about Manny Ramirez. Curry says the team needs a right-handed outfielder and Ramirez would be a good fit for the need. However, he adds that it’s less likely the team will add Ramirez than Johnny Damon.
It’s not surprising that the Yankees have talked about Ramirez. Earlier today, GM Brian Cashman downplayed the team’s interest in Damon.
“It was just part of our canvassing process,” Cashman said.
Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras said earlier this month, that there’s a “good” market for Ramirez and “multiple teams” are interested.
“It’s something we do with every free agent,” Cashman added. “I can’t tell you if anything’s going to happen there. There’s not a clear role for him here.”
Rusty Ryal sold to the Yomiuri Giants
Posted by: | Comments
The Arizona Diamondbacks have sold Rusty Ryal to Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, according to Bailey Stephens of MLB.com. The deal was announced on Thursday,while the deal had been in the works for several weeks.
Ryal played for two seasons with Arizona. In 2010 he hit for .261 with 3 HR and 11 RBI’s in 222 plate appearances throughout 104 games.
Rangers agree to a 1-year deal with Arthur Rhodes
Posted by: | Comments
The Texas Rangers and veteran left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes have agreed on a one-year deal, according to Steve Phillips of AOL FanHouse.com.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds that Rhodes’ deal has a second year vesting option. The total amount of the deal could be $8 million with the second year.
In November, the Cincinnati Reds were hopeful that Rhodes would return in 2011. It was believed that the feelings weremutual.
“I already told them that I want to come back, that I’d love to come back,” Rhodes said in October. “I’ve had a wonderful time here. I’ve enjoyed myself. We’ll see what happens in the off season.”
The 40-year old had a 4-4 record with a 2.29 ERA in 69 appearances for the Reds this past season.
Rockies acquire Matt Lindstrom from Astros for two Minor League pitchers
Posted by: | Comments
According to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, the Colorado Rockies have acquired right-handed pitcher Matt Lindstrom from the Houston Astros. Carrie Muskat of MLB.com adds that the Astros received left-handed pitcher Wes Musick and right-handed pitcher Jonnathan Aristil.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier on Twitter that the Astros were working hard on a trade involving Lindstrom.
The Astros acquired Lindstrom from the Florida Marlins in December 2009 for right-handed pitcher Robert Bono and infielder Luis Bryan.
Lindstrom, 30, was 2-5 with 23 saves and a 4.39 ERA in 58 relief appearances in his only year with the Astros in 2010. The right-hander is eligible for arbitration this winter and will continue to be under team control through the 2012 season. Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post speculates that Lindstrom will make about $3 million in arbitration. He made $1.625 million in 2010 and resides in the Denver area during the off-season.
Musick, 23, went 8-7 witha 4.05 ERA in 23 starts for Single-A Asheville in 2010.
Aristil, 24, was a combined 2-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 33 games (4 starts) at three Minor League levels.
Carlos Gonzalez has NOT agreed to a 7-year, $80 million extension
Posted by: | Comments
According to Antonio Soler of the “Aguilas del Zulia” radio station (Venezuela), the Colorado Rockies have signed outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80 million contract extension. However, the Denver Posts’ Troy E. Renck confirmed with a team source that there is no deal in place with Gonzalez.
Renck adds that the team will keep talking with Gonzalez until Spring Training. Owner Dick Monfort wants to get a deal done, but Gonzalez will have to give up free agent years for it to happen. The team is willing to give him a six or seven-year deal in the range of $100 million.
“I am hopeful, yes, that we can get something done,” Monfort said earlier in December.
“Why? Well, I haven’t talked directly with Carlos, but I know he likes it here. And as a player, I would like to know that Troy Tulowitzki is going to be hitting behind me forever. And I would like that I don’t have to play center field every day because we already have a gazelle out there (in Dexter Fowler). But there is a roadblock.”
The roadblock is Gonzalez’s agent, Scott Boras, who according to Renck, has never given up free-agent years with a position player. Gonzalez will be arbitration eligible after next season, when his salary will jump north of the $406,000 he’ll make next season. He’s under the team’s control for four more seasons.
We’ll keep an eye on this report, but so far there are no legs to it.
San Diego Padres close to signing Brad Hawpe
Posted by: | Comments
According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the San Diego Padres are talking with Brad Hawpe. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports has confirmed Heyman’s report.
A source close to Hawpe confirmed with PRO Rumors that Hawpe has interest in San Diego.
The 31-year old, split time with the Rockies and the Rays in 2010. He hit a total of .245 with 9 HR and 44 RBI’s with both teams.
