With the announcement of the Nationals’ new owner expected any day now, the rumor mill is grinding at full steam.

Only three bidders remain in the running, but the tension of the contest has all the air of a pennant race.

It was reported Wednesday that the group led by Bethesda real estate magnate Theodore Lerner and former Atlanta Braves President Stan Kasten had won the Washington baseball team.

But Major League Baseball President Bob DuPuy issued a statement that called those reports “unfortunate speculation.”

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The Examiner has reported that the Lerner-Kasten group is favored by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

The group, led by Indianapolis media magnate Jeffrey Smulyan, is a favorite of White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, one of baseball’s big hitters.

And the group led by investment tycoons Frederic V. Malek and Jeffrey Zients is favored by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams.

A league source told Examiner columnist Jim Williams that owners are pressuring Selig to act fast. The MLB owners want the new Nationals leadership to join their meeting in New York next month.

bmyers@dcexaminer.com
mneibauer@dcexaminer.com