Rumored Cleveland Guardians minority owner would take control in 5 to 6 years
Some rumors came out that had partial Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer taking over a minority ownership in the Cleveland Guardians.
Guards’ managing partner Paul Dolan stated the two sides have talked, but the longtime owner’s words indicated a deal isn’t done just yet.
Obviously, where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire, andBaseball writer John Heyman reported that Blitzer would be in position to take over a minority role in five to six years, via MLB Trade Rumors.
Fans may have some trepidation over this news, because for as much as everyone loves to complain about the Dolans, there was never a threat the franchise was going to move elsewhere.
Blitzer, though, is from New Jersey, which is about as far away as you can get from Cleveland’s midwest vibe.
The Guards aren’t going anywhere for at least 15 years–that’s how long there new lease is for, and looking at the 52-year-old’s portfolio may suggest the Guards stay put.
Blitzer has a vast portfolio containing shares in professional sports teams. In addition to the 76ers, he has a share in the NHL’s Devils, as well as the English Premier League.
The private equity exec already has some ties to baseball through his ownership of the Class AAA Wilkes/Barre RailRiders. He was reportedly in the hunt to acquire the New York Mets, before current owner Steve Coen came up with the winning bid.
I bring up all these investments because he collects sports teams–and the Guards would be another to his portfolio. They’re guaranteed to go up in value, even in Cleveland.
In Terry Pluto’s recent podcast, the longtime columnist talked about Blitzer buying in at 35 percent, which makes it feasible he’ll get to 51 percent in the time mentioned by Heyman. If memory serves me right, former minority owner John Shermon started with 15 percent, but owned as much as 25 percent at the time he bought the Royals.
Nothing can be done about the current payroll with the work stoppage putting a kibosh on what should’ve been a fun transaction season. When things resume, though, the payroll is expected to go up from the basement tag of $50 million.
Blitzer’s presence would certainly help increase that figure. I’ve read/heard that $80 million could be the number, but we’ll see.
Next. 5 Browns who need to step up vs Packers. dark
The stake owned by Sherman is credited with being a big reason the Tribe was able to land slugger Edwin Encarnacion after the 2016 season.