The value of major league baseball clubs is rising — with the New York Yankees as the most valuable team — amid uncertainty surrounding regional sports networks.
The Yankees were named baseball’s most valuable team by Forbes – their value has increased 18 percent since last season to a whopping $7.1 billion valuation.
With the Steinbrenner family at the helm, the Yankees have seen increasing success and a growing distance from their rivals in the rest of the league.
The next tightest team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is worth $4.8 billion. The Boston Red Sox ($4.5 billion) and Chicago Cubs ($4.1 billion) are the only other teams valued above $4 billion, according to the list.
The San Francisco Giants round out the top five teams in the major leagues at $3.7 billion.
The New York Yankees remain the most valuable team in all of Major League Baseball
But problems at Bally Sports, a regional sports network brand, could spell trouble for 2023
At the other end of the table, the Miami Marlins are the least valuable team in all of baseball, valued at $1 billion.
The next four teams – rounding out the last five – are the Oakland A’s ($1.18bn), the Cincinnati Reds ($1.19bn), the Kansas City Royals ($1.2bn) and the Tampa Bay Rays ($1.25 billion).
The team with the biggest increase in value is the Seattle Mariners, whose value is up 29 percent. The Ms also have the highest operating income of any MLB team at $83.8 million.
Seven teams saw no growth at all: the Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians, Cincinnati Reds, and Oakland A’s.
While there was no MLB team that fell in value, problems could loom for teams whose regional sports networks are owned by Diamond Sports Group — which operates the RSNs under the Bally Sports banner.
Diamond, one of the largest live sports providers in the country, recently filed for bankruptcy. DSG and MLB have assured fans that they will not miss any games.
Fourteen of MLB’s 30 teams have regional syndication deals with Bally Sports — with the LA Angels signing the most valuable team with them.
| rank | team | Value (in $Billions) | Annual change | Operating Income (in million US dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Yankees | 7.1 | 18% | 16.3 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4.8 | 18% | 14.3 |
| 3 | Boston Red Sox | 4.5 | 15% | 71.6 |
| 4 | Chicago Cubs | 4.1 | 8th% | 57.2 |
| 5 | San Francisco Giants | 3.7 | 6% | 74.9 |
| 6 | New York Mets | 2.9 | 9% | -138.5 |
| 7 | Angels from Los Angeles | 2.7 | 23% | 35.8 |
| 8th | Atlanta Braves | 2.6 | 24% | 51.2 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Phillies | 2,575 | 12% | -3.7 |
| 10 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2.55 | 4% | 43.1 |
| 11 | Houston Astros | 2.25 | 14% | 44.3 |
| 12 | Texas Rangers | 2.225 | 9% | 58.1 |
| 13 | Seafarers from Seattle | 2.2 | 29% | 83.8 |
| 14 | Toronto Blue Jays | 2.1 | 18% | -33.7 |
| 15 | Chicago White Sox | 2.05 | 16% | -53.4 |
| 16 | Washington Nationals | 2 | 0% | 45.1 |
| 17 | San Diego Padres | 1.75 | 11% | -55.2 |
| 18 | Baltimore Orioles | 1.7 | 24% | 64.7 |
| 19 | Milwaukee Brewers | 1.6 | 25% | 22.1 |
| 20 | Colorado Rockies | 1,475 | 6% | -13.1 |
| 21 | Detroit Tigers | 1.45 | 4% | -29.5 |
| 22 | Minnesota twins | 1.39 | 0% | -30.3 |
| 23 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.38 | 0% | 28.3 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 1.32 | 0% | 51.5 |
| 25 | Cleveland Guardian | 1.3 | 0% | 38.3 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Rays | 1.25 | 14% | 9.5 |
| 27 | Kansas City Royals | 1.2 | 8th% | 27.8 |
| 28 | Cincinnati Red | 1.19 | 0% | -12.6 |
| 29 | Oakland A | 1.18 | 0% | 62.2 |
| 30 | Miami Marlin | 1 | 1% | -0.5 |
Diamond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The move came after it missed a $140 million interest payment last month.
Diamond owns 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner with rights to 42 professional teams, including 14 baseball teams, with the start of the MLB season just around the corner.
The Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers have broadcast rights owned by Bally Sports.
The company, which has more than 8 billion
Diamond Sports also said it is negotiating a restructuring agreement with debtors that will eliminate most of its debt. Under an agreement with creditors, it would become a separate company from Sinclair Broadcast Group, which bought the regional sports channels in 2019.
The company added that it has $425 million in cash to continue funding its business during the trial.
Major League Baseball has established a local media department in case it needs to cover teams’ broadcasts. Games would be broadcast locally on the MLB network or streamed on MLB.TV should that happen.