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Marlins Reportedly Have a Deal to Sell Franchise for $1.6 Billion [UPDATES]

Could Miami really be this close to getting rid of Jeffrey Loria?
Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins might finally be saved.

Jeffrey Loria, the meddlesome and controversial owner who once sued his own fans, is reportedly going to get $1.6 billion for the team, according to Forbes. David Samson, the team's president, has been going around telling people that there's a "handshake agreement" in place to sell. If it happens, Loria will turn a huge profit. He bought the Marlins for $158 million in 2002.

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While the Marlins won the World Series in 2003, they've generally been a giant mess under Loria's stewardship. They built a publicly financed stadium, which brought with it an SEC investigation into its financing and no crowds. The Marlins played poorly for many years and continually had one of baseball's lowest payrolls despite documents later proving they were doing just dandy financially. The players association has pressured them for years to spend more.

But lest Marlins fans rejoice too soon, the sale seems to be on some shaky ground. Forbes reports that the potential buyer, who is not known, is a New York real estate developer who has liquidity issues.

"Thus, for the real estate developer to purchase the Marlins would likely require more debt than MLB would be comfortable with."

Samson told the Miami Herald he has no comment.

So close, yet so far.

Update: According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, Charles Kushner, father of Donald Trump's senior advisor Jared Kushner and father-in-law of Trump's daughter Ivanka, could be the mystery buyer, or part of the group that has entered a "handshake agreement" with the Marlins. It's unclear if Kushner, a real estate mogul who served two years in prison after pleading guilty to 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering, and tax evasion, is the New York businessman referenced in the earlier report in Forbes or if he is simply another interested buyer, but Rovell says multiple sources have confirmed that he is in the mix.

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Since most of his money is tied up in real estate, he might not have enough cash in hand for Major League Baseball's liking, however.

Update 2:: Jon Heyman has some more information on this and notes that even if Kushner were involved, MLB owners are unlikely to approve a sale:

MLB: "under mlb rules, the commissioner's office must be informed of any conversations about a potential sale (cont.) …
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2017

(cont.) The commissioner's office has not heard directly or indirectly of any conversation involving charles kushner."
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2017

reality is, charles kushner wouldn't be approved as owner by mlb owners. side note: his bad past doesnt eliminate sons tho.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2017