This was tops in our betting pool of upcoming acquisitions: though there’s been no official announcement, it’s being reported that MiLB behemoth Diamond Baseball Holdings is adding the Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A; International League) to its lineup.
Absolutely no surprise: The only question is whether the ownership group led by longtime baseball exec Larry Lucchino and his investors received what has been widely been rumored to be the asking price: $80 million. (The team has been on the market for many, many months.) The only question, really, is what took both sides to reach a deal, as there aren’t many parties out there with both the resources and the inclination to make such a deal.
The news was first reported by the Boston Globe, a newspaper owned by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry.
The WooSox are not moving from Polar Park; the team is just three years into a 35-year lease. And, as is the case with almost all DBH acquisitions, present staff will be retained, with Lucchino remaining in charge.
The Worcester Red Sox are the 27th team under Diamond Baseball Holdings ownership, joining Triple-A’s Albuquerque Isotopes, Iowa Cubs, Gwinnett Stripers, Memphis Redbirds, Norfolk Tides, Oklahoma City Dodgers, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and St. Paul Saints; Double-A’s Altoona Curve, Birmingham Barons, Midland RockHounds, Mississippi Braves, Portland Sea Dogs, Springfield Cardinals, Tulsa Drillers and Wichita Wind Surge; High-A’s Hickory Crawdads, Hudson Valley Renegades, Lansing Lugnuts, Rome Emperors, Salem Red Sox and Vancouver Canadians; and Single-A’s Augusta GreenJackets, Down East Wood Ducks, Fresno Grizzlies and San Jose Giants in being operated by DBH. We could see a total of 50 licensed MiLB teams from DBH in the future; we also expect news of another acquisition in the very near future.
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