FORT MYERS, Fla. — The sale of the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox to a group that will include the Boston Red Sox as a minority stakeholder is complete, according to multiple baseball industry sources. An announcement of the sale is expected on Monday.
The Red Sox joined local owners to purchase the club from PawSox principal owner Madeleine Mondor, wife of longtime PawSox owner Ben Mondor. Ben Mondor saved the team from bankruptcy and likely relocation when he purchased it in 1977; he remained in charge of the club until he passed away in 2010.
On the field, the PawSox have enjoyed considerable success in recent years, as the Red Sox’ top minor league affiliate has reached three straight Governors’ Cup finals (the championship of the Triple A International League), winning two of them, even as the team has offered a steady pipeline of young players to the big leagues. The ease of pushing players through that pipeline has been made easier by the proximity of Pawtucket to Boston.
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The PawSox represent the second instance in recent years in which the Red Sox have been involved in the purchase of a minor league affiliate. The Red Sox also took part in the purchase of the Salem Red Sox of the High A Carolina League in December 2007. However, whereas the Red Sox had a controlling interest as the largest stakeholder in the Salem purchase, the big league club will not have such status in the purchase of the PawSox.
The announcement on Monday is expected to clarify the members of the new ownership group as well as the team’s future at McCoy Stadium.