Juan Rivera In, Frank McCourt Out In Dodgertown

On the day the Los Angeles Dodgers closed in on a deal with Juan Rivera, Frank McCourt has finally agreed to go away, reaching a settlement with Major League Baseball to sell the club. Here is the joint statement from MLB and the Dodgers:

"The Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball announced that they have agreed today to a court supervised process to sell the team and its attendant media rights in a manner designed to realize maximum value for the Dodgers and their owner, Frank McCourt. The Blackstone Group LP will manage the sale process."

From the tireless Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times:

McCourt and Major League Baseball have agreed to seek approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for an auction of the Dodgers. The sale is expected to include the team, Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots, a package bought by McCourt for $421 million in 2004 and likely to sell for two to three times as much now.

The league hopes a new Dodgers owner can be in place by opening day.

My initial thoughts: jubilation, relief, closure.

More to come later.