There finally appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel on the long and dragged-out sale of the Chicago Cubs by the bankrupt Tribune Company.
Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said the process of selling the team will likely be completed by opening day, according to a Chicago Tribune story published Sunday.
"[Tribune Co.'s] goal is to try and narrow the group down to one bidder, try to work through a contract with the bidder and have the other bidders stand down, but not disappear," Kenney said. "If you can't reach a contract with the one bidder, you're going to go back to the others. … With the [company bankruptcy, Tribune Co.] doesn't have a big debt payment in June. [There isn't] another one coming in December—that's stayed. So he doesn't have any pressure to get something done quickly if the bidders aren't participating. But I think they will."
According to MLB.com, the three prospective buyers include Chicago real estate investor Hersch Klaff; the Ricketts family, founders of online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Marc Utay, a New York-based private equity investor.
When it happens and the uncertainty about the franchise's future goes away, the Cubs could become a late player for some of the free agents still on the market, or perhaps rekindle interest in trading for Padres ace Jake Peavy.
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