The signs are there that the Texas Rangers will soon be for sale
One of the two primary owners of the Texas Rangers made a public appearance on Friday morning, and any rational thinker has to wonder how much longer Ray Davis wants to do this.
After all, he is 78 and it’s not as if he needs the money.
He did, however, say he’s 39.
He looks good. Sounds good. Says his health is good.
He spoke to a group of people at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Texas Rangers “village” near their spring training facility in Arizona.
For the moment, he passed on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take questions about the team from us media scum. Not a bad decision.
The Rangers are projected to post a losing record for a fourth straight season. The Vegas over/under on the Rangers’ win total this season is 79.5. (Ever the optimist, give me the under.)
Davis has not given any indication he is ready to leave this “job.” But the timing of a Texas Rangers sale is at the logical stage.
Of the six groups to own the Texas Rangers, the duo of Davis and Simpson now have the second-longest tenure behind only Tom Hicks. We are now 10 years and counting into the the Ray Bob regime, and an abundance of signs exist that they are apt to get out of this.
Start with age. Davis is 78, and Simpson is around 70. People familiar with the club say Simpson’s involvement with the Rangers is minimal.
Fans are tired of them, mostly because the team hasn’t won in several years. And they haven’t spent as much money on players in that time. That is a can’t-miss way to alienate fickle fans.
Since “winning” the Rangers in the auction at the bankruptcy hearing “against” the group of current Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Ray Bob have expanded the Rangers’ footprint considerably.
After Simpson and Davis essentially forced out Nolan Ryan in 2013, they have made good on their intentions to let GM Jon Daniels run the Rangers.
They have built facilities in the Dominican Republic. They have built a Texas Rangers Youth Academy in West Dallas.
In 2010, the Rangers secured a 20-year local TV partnership with Fox Sports Southwest, which reportedly pays the club at least $80 million per season. The team moved their radio broadcast agreement over to 105.3 The Fan, which was recently renewed.
And the Rangers will soon open Globe Life Field that will be the anchor to a Texas Live! development that will also include entertainment and hotel space.
Other than winning a World Series, there is not that much left for this current ownership group to achieve.
According to Forbes, the Texas Rangers are worth $1.65 billion, which makes them the 13th most valuable franchise in baseball. The group of Davis and Simpson bought the team for $593 million in 2010.
Most of the people who own MLB teams don’t realize that “value” until they sell the franchise. It’s like owning a home that appreciates.
At some point, MLB owners simply tire of spending the money necessary to maintain a big-league club. The franchises may be worth billions, but the mega-millions that must be spent in order to keep them going is typically exhausting, and often irritating.
It is one of the primary reasons why the five previous ownership regimes decided to get out.
The duo of Davis and Simpson have followed the standard ownership timeline. They spent a lot of money early on player acquisition, and then slowed down when the spread sheet doesn’t justify it.
Early in their tenure the team took on big contracts from the likes of Adrian Beltre, Cole Hamels, Prince Fielder, Yu Darvish, Shin Soo-Choo and Ian Desmond. In the last few offseasons, the team has not made any major salary additions.
The notable exception is this offseason when the team traded for Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber, who is due to make $17.5 million in 2020. Considering the team is moving into a new stadium, they needed to upgrade the on-the-field product somehow.
The Rangers figure to have a team payroll in the middle of the 30 MLB franchises this season.
The reason men like Simpson and Davis buy teams isn’t for the money. They already have it. They buy a professional sports franchise for fun, and to “win” something their high-roller friends don’t have, World Series rings.
But the ambition to have that shiny new piece of art is eventually outweighed by the desire just to be done with the headaches, and endless spending.
The ownership group has 11 other members. The highest profile owner outside of Davis and Simpson is CEO and chairman of the ownership committee, Neil Leibman.
Leibman was a part of the original ownership group that bought the team in 2010. His role, and stake in the team, has steadily increased over the years.
He’s open and receptive to taking on more. It would make sense if eventually he were to take over as the primary owner, or acting general partner, much as George W. Bush did in his tenure with the club in the ‘90s.
Nothing Davis and Simpson have said or suggested says they are going to sell the Texas Rangers, but the signs are there that such a move is coming.
Santana injured as Rangers win spring training opener
The Rangers rallied to defeat the Kansas City Royals, 5-4, in the team’s spring training opener on Friday in Surprise.
The only bad news from the day is that outfielder Danny Santana left the game in the first inning with tightness in his left calf. Manager Chris Woodward said Santana sustained the injury when running to first base.
Woodward said Santana will be evaluated and he was unsure as to the severity of the injury.
Prospect Taylor Hearn pitched one inning and struck out two Royals in the second. Hearn was basically shutdown for all of last season after he injured his elbow in his MLB debut in late April.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
