The sale of the Houston Astros to Houston businessman Jim Crane is apparently all but done. KTRK’s Bob Allen reports that all the major sticking points to the deal are completed and that only minor bits of the agreement need to be buffed out before it can be completed.
McLane originally asked for around $800 million for the Astros, but it looks like he will wind up getting about $680 million. Not too bad considering the economy and the state of the team at this point.
More to come as the deal is finalized. Obviously Crane will have his own ideas about how to run the club and we’ll see just how far that fallout goes off the bat. He may retain GM Ed Wade for the rest of the season or attempt to start housecleaning almost immediately. It would be very surprising if he got rid of the staff before the MLB Draft on June 15th, however.