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Update: Thursday, 2:35 a.m. -- Joel Elconin, a business writer for the online business publication, Benzinga, is predicting that the ilitch organization is going to sell the Tigers.
But Christopher Ilitch tells Dan Howes of the Detroit News that just isn't so.
“I am committed and we are committed to long-term Ilitch family ownership of the Detroit Tigers,” he told The Detroit News in an interview this week.
Howes goes on to report:
Ilitch is CEO of the family company and, as of last May, successor to his father, Mike, as the Tigers owner. The younger Ilitch dismisses pointed public speculation that dismantling a perennial contender — by dealing pitching ace Justin Verlander and five more big names to shrink team payroll and shift the lineup amid a disappointing season — is a precursor to peddling the team.
“My father would have done the exact same thing that we are doing at the Tigers,” Ilitch said. “And ya’ know how I know that? Because he did it at the Red Wings and he did it at the Tigers. The approach that they’re taking right now is exactly the approach that he followed.”
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Report from Wednesday
The Ilitch camp has insisted all along that the Tigers will remain in their portfolio.
Joel Elconin, a business writer for the online business publication, Benzinga, isn't so sure, and writes:
"I'm sticking my neck out with this prediction: The Ilitch family is going to sell the Detroit Tigers."
Elconin doesn't point to anything concrete, but collectively, he writes that he current state of the team points to a possible sale:
One question that needs to be asked is whether the Tigers front office has finally embarked on the long-overdue rebuilding process, or if there are other plans for the team.
The front office's actions this summer closely resemble the repair of a home before it's put up for sale. Over the last month, the team shed some major salaries and potential liabilities, highlighted by the trade of 13-year veteran Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros. In return, they've received several prospects that come with low salaries and high expectations. Whether or not the moves will turn the team around won't be answered for years.
A recent evaluation of MLB teams by Forbes found that the Tigers have lost money six times in the last nine years. For the 2016 campaign, the operating income resulted in a loss of $34.6 million, the worst in the MLB. In contrast, the Ilitch's Detroit Red Wings, despite a disappointing season, posted an operating income of $6.1 million.
In order to truly determine what the intent is or what may be in the best interests of the Ilitch family, one must examine their actions from two different perspectives: an economic one, with the team's tax liability and valuation, and their ownership history.
Who would be a possible suitor?
The writer mentions Dan Gilbert, Tom Gores and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban.
Time will tell.
