The Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine is reporting that the sale of the Houston Astros to business owner Jim Crane is complete, pending MLB approval. The official proceedings could run through the end of summer, but there have been no indications in the media about hang-ups or potential issues that could disrupt the process.
The final price is said to be $680 million.
Soon to be former owner Drayton McLane says that finer points are of course being worked out by his lawyers and by Crane's representatives, but with a press conference being scheduled, it's clear that the broad strokes have been approved and it's just a matter of working out the details.
Drayton McLane Jr. purchased the Astros in 1993, and the team enjoyed some high times with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell running the show and the locker room. However, the team has since fallen on hard times after a series of terrible baseball decisions, disastrous front office and player personnel moves, awful free agent signings, and an inexplicable gutting of the minor league system that is still years from being repaired.
Not much is known about Jim Crane, but Astros fans will no doubt welcome the change with open arms and hopeful excitement.
Much more on this story as it develops all week.