You Heard It Here First: Arison Interested in Buying Marlins

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Last April, we pulled a fast one and fooled a lot of people into thinking Miami Heat owner Micky Arison was buying the Marlins. Sadly, that story was a prank – but it looks like we might not have been that far off.

In his Sunday Buzz column today, Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson said that, according to a major league source, Arison has expressed interest in buying the Marlins “going back to last year.” Maybe the prank made him see how many Marlins fans were truly excited at the prospect of a real owner, or maybe he had the brilliant idea all by himself. Either way, it doesn’t seem to matter, as Jeffrey Loria appears intent on keeping his deathgrip on the franchise. Per Jackson:

But Loria isn’t interested in selling to Arison, Jeb Bush or anyone else who has inquired.Arison has informed the Marlins of his interest on more than one occasion but did not make a formal offer because he was specifically told that Loria would not consider it.Loria isn’t speaking to reporters, but associates said he loves owning a team and has no intention of selling unless health issues or some other unexpected circumstances arise.

Of course, it does raise the interesting question of what will happen to the franchise when health issues or unexpected circumstances occur. Team President David Samson is a stepson, but he’s taken a back seat lately and seems ill-fit to own a big league franchise. When the time comes, one can only hope that Arison will, indeed, still be interested. Until then, we’ll have to hope that Loria continues with his new-found restraint from meddling in baseball affairs, and maybe he’ll even open his wallet every now and again.