Florida

Derek Jeter, Jeb Bush Group Buying Miami Marlins: Reports

A group led by New York Yankees great Derek Jeter and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has a deal in place to buy the Miami Marlins for $1.3 billion, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that a person with knowledge of the deal said the group won the bidding for the team.

An MLB source told The Miami Herald that there's an agreement in place but it's pending MLB approval and other details need to be worked out.

The team is owned by Jeffrey Loria. The Marlins had no comment Tuesday.

The deal could take months to conclude, but Bush will be the "control person," the Herald reported.

"I think Jeb and Jeter are just fine. I think they'll be great owners and I believe this community is ready for new ownership of the Miami Marlins," Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters Tuesday.

Jeter has made no secret of his desire to own a baseball team, telling CNBC in 2016 that it is his "ultimate goal." And Bush comes from a baseball-loving family; his brother George owned the Texas Rangers before becoming president.

Loria, the former Montreal Expos owner, bought the Marlins for $158.5 million in 2002 from John Henry, now part of the Boston Red Sox ownership group.

Loria has been an unpopular owner among many Marlins fans, and some local residents, after the team used hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to build Marlins Park. The team also hasn't made the postseason since 2003, when they won the World Series.

"It's a great facility, it's just too bad, we just need a good team to fill it up and also put some of the negative and the bad taste that we may have in our mouths away and I think that will go with the new ownership group," Gimenez said.

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