Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals are no longer for sale after the team had been on the market for almost two years.
Managing principal owner Mark Lerner told the Washington Post that his family will continue to run the team for the foreseeable future, having originally taken over in 2006 when the family purchased it from Major League Baseball for $450 million.
Lerner said: “We have determined, our family has determined, that we are not going to sell the team. Nothing has really changed. We’ve just decided that it’s not the time or the place for it. We’re very happy owning the team and bringing us back a ring one day.”
Since the Lerners acquisition, the Nationals have made five postseason appearances, winning four National League East titles and a World Series championship in 2019, however they have finished in last place in the NL East each of the past four seasons since winning their first championship.
Mark Lerner took control from his father, Ted Lerner in 2018, and Ted Lerner died in February 2023 at the age of 97.
The announcement comes three weeks after the nearby Baltimore Orioles agreed to be sold to businessman David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion, a deal that is still yet to be approved by MLB club owners.
