Florida sale:
Multiple groups have submitted bids to buy the Marlins, including one with Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush, but none has yet been accepted.
miami» Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush still haven’t touched all the bases in their bid to buy the Miami Marlins. Far from it.
Multiple groups have submitted bids to buy the team, and none has yet been accepted, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. His comments came after Bloomberg reported a group led by former New York Yankees captain Jeter and former Florida Gov. Bush won an auction for the team with a $1.3 billion bid.
“There are multiple groups interested in acquiring the Marlins,” Manfred said in Pittsburgh while attending the Pirates-Cubs game. “One of those groups is the BushJeter group. When we have a resolution as to which bid is going to be accepted, we will announce that.”
Completion of any sale by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria could take months and would require approval by at least 75 percent of the major league teams. More than half of the winning bid could involve cash because of MLB’s debt service rule, meaning the Bush-Jeter group would need to raise a lot of money.
“You can rest assured the acquiring group, whoever it turns out to be, will have a financial structure — meaning some debt and the rest equity — that is consistent with the rules that we have, most notably the debt service rule,” Manfred said. “And more important than complying with the rules, (that) puts the franchise in a position that it can operate effectively. That’s really the commissioner’s office’s job in terms of approving any potential bidding group, and we are really focused on that issue with respect to the Marlins.”
No surgery for Bumgarner
B san francisco» Giants ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner will not require surgery on his sprained pitching shoulder and is scheduled to begin light rehabilitation activities in four or five days.
The 2014 World Series MVP bruised ribs and sprained the AC joint in his pitching shoulder in a dirt bike accident during last Thursday’s off day in Colorado. He is wearing a sling on his pitching arm for at least another week.
Bumgarner underwent a followup MRI exam Monday night that showed what the Giants already thought: no structural damage to the shoulder.
Suspension for umpire contact
B new york» St. Louis first baseman Matt Carpenter was suspended for one game and fined by Major League Baseball for making contact with umpire John Tumpane following his ejection last weekend.
Carpenter was called out on strikes by Tumpane during the seventh inning of Sunday’s game at Milwaukee. Carpenter threw his bat and was ejected.
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny came onto the field and argued, and he also was tossed from the game.
Footnote.
The Dodgers moved to improve a sagging offense, calling up top prospect Cody Bellinger, a first baseman and outfielder, from Triple-A Oklahoma City to join the team in the Bay Area.