Report: Billy Beane could leave baseball over Red Sox ownership deal

Major League Baseball may be about to lose its most famous front office figure.

According to Jared Diamond, Joshua Robinson and Miriam Gottfried of the Wall Street Journal, Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane will likely leave baseball if Fenway Sports Group successfully merges with RedBall Acquisition Corp., a company co-chaired by Beane.

Beane’s RedBall is in talks to purchase a stake of less than 25% of Fenway Sports Group. That proposed merger would create a conflict of interest for the 58-year-old, who owns a stake of the A’s franchise but would have a financial interest in the Red Sox if the deal gets done. That conflict of interest would be unacceptable to Major League Baseball. Under that scenario, according to the report, Beane would leave the A’s, but would not take a position with the Red Sox, either.

Instead, Beane is likely to work with Red Sox principal owner John Henry on his sports portfolio, which also includes English Premier League champions Liverpool. Beane is enthusiastic about European soccer, and FSG may be looking to purchase more clubs in Europe.

Henry has long wanted to work with Beane. The Red Sox famously offered Beane their GM job after the 2002 season, but he declined and has remained with Oakland. The A’s have remained consistently competitive despite lower payrolls thanks in part to Beane’s famous “Moneyball” approach.

Beane leaving Oakland would be a huge deal, and would represent a massive shift for the organization that he’s run for over two decades. In recent years, he‘s voiced his frustration about the franchise’s payroll restrictions. Maybe he’s somewhat eager to move on and try something new.