Los Angeles Dodgers Sale Reaches Second Round

While Major League Baseball’s Hot Stove is starting to cool off, there is one other serious round of bidding just getting starting.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are for sale and several groups of potential buyers have put in their initial offers.  Yesterday Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported that at least eight of the groups or individuals had moved on to the second round of bidding.  Among those that didn’t make the cut were Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the ownership group that included former Dodger greats Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser.

Though those well-known faces are out of the mix for the Dodgers, several high-profile bidders remain.  According to Shaikin, the group led by Magic Johnson, the one led by developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers and Yankees manager Joe Torre, and hedge-fund giant Steven Cohen all advanced to the second round of bidding.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported yesterday there are already bids on the table for north of $1.2 billion, while CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman hears Frank McCourt has received at least one offer in the $1.5 billion range.  Bob Nightengale of USA Today is convinced the Dodgers will be sold for around $1.7 billion, but if Heyman’s report is correct he could see the bidding hitting the $2 billion range.

While there has been no timetable set for the remainder of the bidding process, McCourt has said that the winning group or individual will be identified by April 1.

For more on the Dodgers, be sure to check out Lasorda’s Lair.