The Mariners aren’t for sale, but they are in a ‘unique position’

The team had to reiterate that the team was not for sale Tuesday morning following a piece written in Baseball Prospectus by Maury Brown.

The owners of the Mariners want you to know they’re not
for sale.

The team had to reiterate that over and over Tuesday
morning
following a piece written in Baseball Prospectus by
Maury Brown.

As a contributor to Forbes, a sports business analyst and the founder of the Business of Sports Network, Brown believes the Mariners would be easier to move than
any other ball club in Major League Baseball.

Two of the Mariners’ owners, including the controlling
owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi, is no “spring chicken” at age 84,
while the minority share holder, Christopher Larson, is in
the midst of a divorce.

He says both of their financial situations make it more
difficult, but not impossible, to liquidate for “cash
calls,” or when the team needs extra money available for
an investment.

The Mariners also lack a multimillion dollar television
deal that many other MLB teams have to create income.

The team’s payroll is low, but the Mariners aren’t
“stingy” when it comes to their payroll. According to
Brown, it’s down 5.25 percent from opening day last
year.

These factors lead him to write the hypothetical reasons
the Mariners would be on the market, and what makes them
so appealing.

“Whether they have any desire to do that or not is
completely different that the discussion that came out of
this article,” Brown explained to 97.3 KIRO FM’s Dori
Monson.

While the owners are continuing to affirm that the team is
not for sale, Brown only says that the team is “uniquely
positioned” in the league if they decide to change their
minds.