Reports now claim that local rapper Pitbull and NBA legend Michael Jordan have joined in on groups bidding for the Miami Marlins but Alex Rodriguez is staying out of the front office fray.
The news comes a day after Forbes reported that current Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had reached an agreement to sell the team to local businessman Jorge Mas. The team and MLB denied the reports of the $1.17 billion deal.
Armando Christian Peréz, better known as Pitbull, is now part of the group that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush joined, which also includes, former Marlins pitcher Al Leiter as well as former Braves and lefthander Tom Glavine, CNBC star Marcus Lemonis, and is led by the oldest son of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, according to a report by the Miami Herald Tuesday.
Michael Jordan has also reportedly been added to a third bidding group that includes former New York Yankee Derek Jeter.
However, A-Rod says his family and other interests will keep him out of trying to join any of the Marlins ownership pursuits.
"I'm so busy right now with my daughters and the Boys and Girls Club and just running my business," Rodriguez said after a ceremony to commemorate the opening of a refurbished baseball complex at the local Boys and Girls Club near where he grew up. "I hope they get it right, I have tremendous faith that they will."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was originally hoping the bidding would be closed by the time All-Star Week arrived in Miami, rather than have uncertainty over the future of the franchise cloud the festivities in any way. Instead, it looks like the process will continue through the season with a new ownership group installed at the owners' meetings held in Orlando this December.
When questioned about the rumored updates in the bidding while in town for All-Star Week events, Manfred said all three groups are viable and offering around the same price for the team. The Commissioner also said that the team would be free to make whatever trades the current regime wants while the sale plays out, amid rumors of another Loria-led fire sale during the second half of the year.
A clause in the deal to give Loria money towards construction of Marlins Park requires him to kick back five percent of any proceeds from selling the franchise back to the county if he closes a deal before April of 2018, ten years after the stadium opened.
So while the heads of baseball may want a resolution to come quickly, Loria is not likely to be inclined to hasten the process.