the wages of wins (above replacement): a thread for baseball finances

apologies in advance for the title

first up, interesting article about the nats https://www.talknats.com/2025/04/30/the-nats-are-sinking-in-debt-per-reports/

Per Michael Ozanian of CNBC, the Washington Nationals have the second highest debt load as a percentage of team value in the MLB, second only to the Miami Marlins who sit at 38 percent.

Going with Ozanian’s numbers, the Nationals are carrying approximately $550 million in debt. Ozanian also has the Nationals at the 4th lowest revenue of any team in baseball.

the article links to CNBC's baseball valuations, which CNBC calls "official MLB team valuations":

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/cnbcs-official-mlb-team-valuations-2025.html

but when you look at the methodology, it doesn't seem like these are really 'official', still just a best guess by CNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/methodology-cnbcs-official-mlb-team-valuations-2025.html

i guess i really just wanted a thread to talk about finally understanding why the marlins fired everybody last year. they have a lot of debt!

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/white-sox-owner-jerry-reinsdorf-reaches-agreement-with-justin-ishbia-for-controlling-stake-171235577.html

The Chicago White Sox are looking at an ownership change in the near future: The team announced in a press release on Thursday that owner Jerry Reinsdorf has reached an agreement with billionaire investor Justin Ishbia to potentially sell his majority stake five years from now.

According to a press release, the "long-term investment agreement" gives Reinsdorf the "option" to sell his controlling stake to Ishbia between 2029 and 2033. Ishbia currently holds a minority stake in the team.