Following the end of this week’s two-day MLB Owner’s Meetings, commissioner Rob Manfred spoke in front of members of the media to recap the two days of meetings. Throughout his address, three things stuck out: Marlins, Europe, and Committee.
The Sale of the Miami Marlins
Manfred gave an update on the purchasing of the Jeffrey Loria’s Miami Marlins, stating that both sides are relatively equal in price.
“The bidders are in relatively the same place in terms of price,” said Manfred. “In fact, (they are) in the price range that Mr. Loria was looking for.”
The two groups currently bidding for the Marlins are both made-up of a political figure and an MLB legend. On one side, you have the bid of former Florida governor Jeb Bush which includes former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. In opposition, you have Tagg Romney, son of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and MLB Hall-of-Fame pitcher Tom Glavine.
Once the process or transaction of sale occurs, 75% of MLB owners will have to approve the sale for it to occur.
Baseball in Europe?
According to Manfred, the MLB is seeking to begin playing regular-season games in Europe by 2019. The MLB has done this before as they have had teams play in Japan and Australia to open the season.
Despite the big aspirations in Europe, Manfred’s not sure on how it will happen.
“I can’t tell you we are going to do it,” said Manfred. “But we do think it’s time, whether it’s 2019 or shortly thereafter, that we play in Europe.”
Optimism is critical for Manfred, but games in Europe doesn’t necessarily make the greatest sense. If things do pan out, it will be curious which countries will host games. If one had to place a bet, likely places would be Italy, the Netherlands, or maybe even Spain.
Reshaping the Competition Committee
The Competition Committee of the MLB, which has consisted of only team presidents and owners, is now stretching to include multiple different aspects of the team.
Now, managers, general managers, and even Hall-of-Famers are providing new insight into the committee. Here is the full list of members of the new Competition Committee.
- Sandy Alderson — General Manager, New York Mets
- Roberto Alomar — Hall of Famer and special consultant to MLB
- Chris Antonetti — President of Baseball Operations, Cleveland Indians
- Frank Coonelly — President, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Ray Davis — Co-chairman and Managing Partner, Texas Rangers
- Jerry Dipoto — Executive Vice President and General Manager, Seattle Mariners
- Theo Epstein — President, Baseball Operations, Chicago Cubs
- Joe Girardi — Manager, New York Yankees
- Mark Lerner — Principal Owner, Washington Nationals
- Mike Matheny — Manager, St. Louis Cardinals
- Dave Roberts — Manager, Los Angeles Dodgers
- David Samson — President, Miami Marlins
- Mark Shapiro — President and CEO, Toronto Blue Jays
- Buck Showalter — Manager, Baltimore Orioles
- John Smoltz — Hall-of-Famer and Analyst, FOX Sports and MLB Network
- Tom Werner — Chairman, Boston Red Sox
Manfred stated that “the competition committee was restructured to put us in a position that we had a more diverse group of people giving input on various changes that we’ve been talking about.”
Manfred did not get ahead of himself to say what was going to happen with the new committee. But, by having a more diverse group of baseball experts, the MLB will have a better overall view of the game.