Texas Rangers seek bankruptcy protection to help spur $575 million sale

Rangers seek bankruptcy protection to spur sale

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have sought bankruptcy protection in hopes of getting their $575 million sale to a team of investors cleared by midsummer.

The 21-page filing, made Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas, includes a list of unsecured creditors headed by Alex Rodriguez, who’s owed $24.9 million in deferred compensation dating to his days with the team.

Other players on the list include Michael Young, Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla.

The team called the filing a “voluntary” plan that will fully pay the club’s debt tied up in Tom Hicks’ financially strapped ownership group. Hicks has agreed to sell assets to the new ownership group led by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and team president Nolan Ryan.

The team says the sale proceeds will be enough to satisfy all the Hicks Sports Group debt guaranteed by the Rangers.

Commissioner Bud Selig said the proposed deal “serves the best interests of the team, its fans, MLB and all other parties involved.”

The filing is not the first in baseball.