Free agents are at stake as Los Angeles Dodgers to change owners – MLB News
Two giants, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols will have to wait more if they wanted to be a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as according to well-informed source, the club will not be able to place a bid on any free agent until the National League Western
franchise is sold.
Many players looking the Dodgers’ way, including Matt Kemp will have to wait until the club is sold. According to the sources close to the Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt, the opportunity will only be provided to a candidate if he shows up about $1.5 billion.
However, the reports have disclosed that the club is likely to be selling for about $1.2 billion.
It would take four to six months to completely hand over the club to a new candidate. The period will drag the deal into 2012 and the chances of the Dodgers acquiring free agents will be reduced to a minimum.
The Dodgers’ former owner Pete O’Malley has already shown his interest in acquiring the club 13 years after he sold it to Fox. The club is like a homemade product for O’Malley, who is a successor of a family, who owned the club for 47 years.
O’Malley showed his exasperation of Frank last week and said the club now need another mind. O’Malley alleged Frank was responsible for the bankruptcy of the Dodgers.
“The franchise needs leadership,” O’Malley said Wednesday from his Los Angeles office. “It needs to be reconnected with the community. I think I can provide the restoration of the franchise quicker and better than anyone else. It is a jewel. Its place in
the community has always been as one of the most prestigious organizations, but sadly, that hasn’t been the case for the past few years.”
Besides O’Malley, Steve Garvey, Orel Hershiser, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Fred Claire and Mark Cuban are the prospective candidates of the club. However, O’Malley, who had sold the club for $311 million to the Fox Entertainment Group, has maximum chances
to acquire the team, according to experts.
The selling will be exercised in three steps, instead of one-step, as quoted by the sources on the condition of anonymity. Before allowing any discussions, Major League Baseball will examine all the potential buyers for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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