SAC Capital Advisors Founder and Mets investor Steven Cohen has “emerged as the strongest bidder for the Dodgers” with a reported bid of $1.6B that includes “at least half of that sum paid in cash,” according to sources cited by Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. A source said that Cohen “plans to hire” former MLB manager Tony La Russa to “a key front office position.” Cohen’s group also includes agent Arn Tellem, who “would join La Russa in the front office.” Cohen is among the final four bidders for the team, which includes a group led by Nationals and Braves President Stan Kasten and Basketball HOFer Magic Johnson, Rams and EPL club Arsenal Owner Stan Kroenke and a group led by Grizzlies Owner Michael Heisley. Outgoing Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt will have “autonomy to select the owner once MLB owners vote next week” on the remaining bidders. Sources said that McCourt will “ask four finalists to submit a new bid by Friday” (USA TODAY, 3/15). In L.A., Bill Shaikin noted La Russa “could consider overseeing the Dodgers' baseball operations, much as former manager Joe Torre could have done had his bid with Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso been successful” (LATIMES.com, 3/14).
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC? The L.A. TIMES’ Shaikin reported Warriors co-Owner Peter Guber has “joined the Dodgers bid group” led by Kasten and Johnson. Guber would be “a minority investor in the group.” Johnson is also an investor in the Single-A Midwest League Dayton Dragons, one of “several minor league baseball franchises owned and operated by Guber’s Mandalay Sports.” Guber and Johnson also have been “partners in the entertainment business.” If the Johnson bid is successful, Kasten “would run the Dodgers” and Guber would “help the team develop its strategies in such areas as marketing, fan experience and community affairs” (LATIMES.com, 3/14). In L.A., Steve Dilbeck writes as the “hour grows near, it has to be asked: Can McCourt turn down Magic Johnson?” Johnson is “only one of the most beloved figures in Los Angeles sports history,” and there is now “no one left standing with ties to the Dodgers.” Johnson is also the “only bidder with ties to Los Angeles sports, and almost the only one who lives in Los Angeles.” Dilbeck: “I don’t think it’s exactly reaching to say Magic is the overwhelming favorite of those in L.A.” (L.A. TIMES, 3/15).
