Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner dies at 97 Athletics acquire Bleday from Marlins in trade for Puk

WASHINGTON. Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate developer whose family bought the Washington Nationals in 2006, has died, the team said. He was 97.

A National spokesman said Lerner died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Lerner’s group purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450 million after the team was relocated to the US capital from Montreal, where it played for over three decades as the Expos. He ran the primary owner until he ceded the role to his son Mark in 2018.

Under the Lerners, the Nationals went from one of the worst baseball teams in their first few seasons in Washington to the 2019 World Series champions. The Lerners have also been credited with reviving the city’s naval shipyard since the opening of the National Park in 2008.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of principal managing owner Theodore N. Lerner,” the team said in a statement. “The main achievement of his family business was the return of baseball to the city he loved, and with it the championship for the first time since 1924. He treasured the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown.”

Last year, the Lerners began exploring the possibility of selling the team, which is valued at $2 billion according to Forbes. The family has an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion thanks to Nationals and Lerner Enterprises, one of the largest real estate companies in the world. area of ​​Washington.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland Athletics Acquire Left Outfielder Jay Jay Bledey from Miami, sending left-handed AJ Tom to marlin.

Bledey, 25, made his major league debut last year, hitting .167 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 65 games. He made 27 starts in center field.

Selected fourth overall in the 2019 draft, Bleday hit .228 with 20 homers and 52 RBIs in 85 games for Triple-A Jacksonville last year.

Park, 27, went 4-3 with a 3.12 ERA and four saves in 62 assists last season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and shoulder surgery two years later, costing him two seasons, one of which was a virus-shortened 2020 60-game campaign.

In 2016, a 6-foot-7 player was drafted in the first “A” round and spent time as both a starter and a pitcher.