Report: Patrick Soon-Shiong Interested in Buying Dodgers — But Team Is Not for Sale

Patrick Soon-Shiong reportedly has interest in buying the Los Angeles Dodgers — but there is one extremely important detail that should not get lost in the headline.

The Dodgers are not currently for sale.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Soon-Shiong, the billionaire physician, businessman and owner of the Times, would be interested in leading an investment group to purchase the Dodgers if controlling owner Mark Walter ever decided to sell the franchise. Soon-Shiong’s family attorney also told the Times that there have been no discussions with Walter about a potential transaction.

That makes this a story about potential future interest, not an active Dodgers sale.

And Dodgers president Stan Kasten has been emphatic about that distinction.

Stan Kasten Says There Is No Dodgers Sale Process

Speculation about the Dodgers’ ownership has increased following Walter’s recent decision to sell his controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers.

But Kasten has repeatedly said the circumstances surrounding the Lakers do not mean Walter is preparing to unload the Dodgers.

On Friday, Kasten went further, telling reporters there is no process underway to sell the franchise and stating unequivocally that the Dodgers are not for sale. MLB and the Los Angeles Times both reported those comments.

Kasten had made a similar point earlier in August after news of the Lakers transaction surfaced, saying the Lakers situation and the Dodgers are separate matters and that no ownership changes involving the baseball club were being contemplated.

For that reason, any suggestion that Soon-Shiong is negotiating to purchase the Dodgers would be inaccurate based on the information currently available.

There is no publicly announced sale.

There is no publicly announced bidding process.

And Soon-Shiong’s representative says his camp has not spoken with Walter about buying the team.

What does exist is interest should those circumstances ever change.

Soon-Shiong Has Been Here Before

Soon-Shiong’s name appearing in connection with Dodgers ownership is not entirely new.

He was involved in the competition to buy the franchise in 2012, when the Dodgers were sold by Frank McCourt. According to the Los Angeles Times, Soon-Shiong finished as the runner-up in that process before the group led by Walter ultimately acquired the club for approximately $2.15 billion.

Walter has remained the Dodgers’ controlling owner since that acquisition through Guggenheim Baseball Management.

The ownership era that followed has transformed the franchise both competitively and financially. Los Angeles has become a perennial championship contender, winning 12 of the previous 13 NL West titles and three World Series championships over the previous six seasons, according to MLB.

That success is part of what would make a hypothetical Dodgers sale one of the largest transactions in sports history.

The Times reported that an industry source estimated the franchise could command somewhere between $10 billion and $13 billion if it were eventually placed on the market. That figure is an estimate rather than an asking price, because again, there is currently no sale process.

Soon-Shiong Already Has Strong Ties to Los Angeles Sports

Soon-Shiong would hardly be entering the Los Angeles sports landscape as an outsider.

He has owned a minority stake in the Lakers since purchasing approximately 4% of the franchise from Magic Johnson in 2010. As recently as this month, his representative said Soon-Shiong intends to retain that stake through the Lakers’ latest ownership transition.

He also owns the Los Angeles Times and has been involved in other business and sports ventures in Southern California.

That history, combined with his previous attempt to purchase the Dodgers, helps explain why his name would surface if there were ever a change in the franchise’s availability.

But being interested in an asset is very different from having an opportunity to purchase it.

At the moment, Walter and Dodgers leadership say that opportunity does not exist.

Why Dodgers Sale Speculation Has Increased

The renewed attention around Dodgers ownership did not emerge in a vacuum.

Walter recently agreed to sell his controlling stake in the Lakers, less than a year after the NBA approved his purchase of the team. Questions have also emerged around other parts of Walter’s business portfolio amid federal scrutiny of companies associated with TWG Global.

Those developments have naturally led to questions about whether the Dodgers could eventually become available as well.

However, questions are not confirmation.

Kasten has maintained that the Dodgers remain financially stable and that the organization intends to continue operating as it has under Walter. He has also said he expects Walter’s sports portfolio, including the Dodgers, to remain intact.

That is the most important established fact for fans trying to separate legitimate reporting from speculation.

What Dodgers Fans Should Take From the Report

There are really two separate facts in this story, and both can be true at the same time.

Patrick Soon-Shiong would reportedly be interested in the Dodgers if the franchise became available.

The Dodgers say the franchise is not available.

Soon-Shiong’s interest is noteworthy because of his wealth, his long-standing connections to Los Angeles sports and his history as a bidder for the Dodgers.

But it should not be interpreted as evidence that a sale is imminent, that Walter is soliciting bids or that negotiations between the two sides have begun.

None of those things has been reported.

For now, Walter remains the Dodgers’ controlling owner, and Kasten says the organization is moving forward with its existing ownership structure and its plans to continue competing for championships.

That could change someday, as ownership situations in professional sports always can.

And if it does, one familiar Los Angeles billionaire has already made his interest known.

Patrick Soon-Shiong may want a seat at the table if the Dodgers ever become available. For now, however, the Dodgers insist there is no table — because the team is not for sale.