Marlins reportedly sold to Jorge Mas for $1.17 Billion

Shortly before All star festivities started with last night’s Home Run Derby, Forbes reported that the Miami Marlins had been sold to Jorge Mas.

Forbes published a report saying that a sale of the Miami Marlins had been reached with Cuban American billionaire Jorge Mas. The reported price: $1.17 billion.

Mas, the Chairman and co-founder of the Fortune 500 company MasTec, first entered the bidding a few weeks ago. He recently made headlines when his request for exclusive negotiating rights was denied by the Marlins.

This means the Marlins wished to keep the bidding field open, perhaps in the hopes of a last minute Jeter sale.

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A native son and UM alumni, Mas has deep ties to the South Florida community and Latin American markets abroad. Throw in the fact that he was willing to put up as much as $200 million of his own funds, and he quickly became an attractive candidate to the MLB.

The report of a sale was quickly denied by the Marlins across multiple outlets. And it is worth noting that Mas has yet to publicly submit his offer. But, as the saying goes, where there is smoke there is fire. This deal makes too much sense to be pure conjecture.

If the news proves to be true, and Jorge Mas is in fact the new owner of one of the longest suffering franchises in professional sports, then today is absolutely a day for celebration. Hug your kids. Call in sick. High five a complete stranger. Because today might just be the day that Jeffery Loria finally, FINALLY, surrendered the reins of this franchise to more capable hands.

Suffering under Loria

It’s been a bad look for Loria over his 15 years as owner of the Marlins. When you have more fire sales than post-season appearances, something ain’t working. And, in most cases, it was Jeffery Loria.

Sure, he charged taxpayers an estimated $2.6 billion to construct the new stadium. And sure, one year after that stadium opened he slashed payroll and traded away players like Jose Reyes and Josh Johnson. Heck, just this week it was reported the Marlins were suing another fan for choosing to opt out of their season ticket commitment.

You know what I’m really gonna miss though? The strange Jeffery Loria decisions. Nothing huge, just silly. Remember when he swapped Jose Fernandez and Ricky Nolasco starts for a doubleheader in Minnesota? Apparently, he wanted Jose Fernandez to pitch the day game instead, because he thought it would be warmer. Ah, memories…

Next: Forbes takes LaVar Ball approach to sale

And now, we might be losing baseball’s greatest villain for the past decade and a half. If this is the case, we salute you Jeffery Loria. Jorge Mas can be a great owner for this franchise. But today is your day. Now, take your curtain call. And try not to sue any season ticket holders on your way out.