(Washington) The Washington Nationals are no longer for sale after the club searched for a possible new owner for nearly two years.
Nats majority owner Mark Lerner told the Washington Post, Monday, that her family “has determined that they are no longer going to sell the club.” A Nationals spokesperson confirmed the article. Post.
The Lerner family, which has owned the team since purchasing it from MLB in 2006, began exploring the possibility of selling the club in April 2022. Mark Lerner took the reins of the team from his father in 2018. Ted Lerner died in 2023 at the age of 97.
The Lerners’ move comes weeks after businessman David Rubenstein agreed to buy the Baltimore Orioles for $1.725 billion. The sale must be approved by 75% of MLB owners.
During the transfer that brought the Expos from Montreal to Washington in 2005, the Orioles held the local television rights to the Nationals, a matter that is still debated in court.
The Nats have finished last in the NL East the past four seasons after winning the World Series in 2019, the organization’s first.
Associated Press reporter Howard Fendrich contributed to this article.