Dodgers president Stan Kasten forcefully denied rumors the team is for sale, insisting there’s no sale process underway.
Stan Kasten wanted to leave no room for interpretation. Amid a swirl of speculation about the future of the Los Angeles Dodgers under owner Mark Walter, the team president stepped in front of reporters and shut the door as firmly as he could.
“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said Friday. “They’re not gonna be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell it, period. We are planning only to win.” He delivered the message on the field at Dodger Stadium before the team’s game against Pittsburgh.
Understanding why Kasten felt compelled to speak requires tracing how the rumor took hold. The conjecture began earlier this month when Walter agreed to a stunning sale of the Los Angeles Lakers to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking $12.5 billion. Walter had only bought a controlling stake in that franchise from the Buss family last year, so flipping it so quickly naturally sparked questions about whether his other crown jewel could be next.
Fueling the speculation was a cloud hanging over Walter’s business empire. Multiple outlets last month reported that his holdings are under scrutiny from federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission in tax fraud investigations, with Walter cooperating. Adding to the churn, he is also said to be in talks to sell his stake in Chelsea FC, feeding a narrative that a broader sell-off might be underway.
This wasn’t the first time Kasten addressed the matter. He reiterated comments he first made on Aug. 12, the day Walter stunned the sports world by offloading the Lakers less than a year after the NBA approved his purchase. “This is a Lakers’ story; it’s not really a Dodgers story. They’re completely separate,” Kasten framed it plainly.
The 74-year-old executie also sought to convey just how much the franchise means to its owner. “I can’t tell you how important the Dodgers are to Mark,” he said, casting Walter’s Lakers exit as a one-off, opportunistic move rather than a sign of things to come.
For now, the message from the top is unambiguous: the defending champions aren’t going anywhere.
Stan Kasten wanted to leave no room for interpretation. Amid a swirl of speculation about the future of the Los Angeles Dodgers under owner Mark Walter, the team president stepped in front of reporters and shut the door as firmly as he could. “The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said Friday. “They’re not gonna be sold.