Worst MLB owners: John Fisher, Bob Nutting among worst owners in MLB

The Boston Red Sox should consistently be one of the highest-spending clubs in baseball, putting themselves in the mix with the likes of the Philadelphia Phillies and within range of the New York Yankees. Instead, John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group have taken things in a different direction to the detriment of the club.

• John Henry net worth (Forbes): $6 billion

The Red Sox payroll in 2025 ($210 million luxury tax projection) is poised to finish outside the 12 highest spending teams. Boston just finished the second consecutive year – $188.54M in 2024 (11th) and $180.926M in 2023 (13th) – outside the top 10 in payroll spending. Unsurprisingly, the club has finished last in the AL East both times and three times in the last four years. Meanwhile, Henry has kept raising Red Sox ticket prices. Revenue over on-field results seems to be the Fenway Sports Group’s primary objective now, which also sees this team be “in the mix” for many top MLB free agents every winter that they never sign.

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It’s never a good thing to have one of the ‘poorest’ owners in baseball. Unsurprisingly, Bruce Sherman’s presence atop the Miami Marlins organization has led to budgers being slashed whenever possible. The justification for the Marlins payroll in 2025 ($67 million) being the lowest in baseball this season is that the club is in a multi-year rebuild. However, under Sherman, Miami has ranked bottom-six in spending five of the last six seasons. It’s part of the reason why Kim Ng stepped down as general manager following the 2023 season because Sherman evidently made it clear investing money in making the club better wasn’t a goal. Sherman shouldn’t have been an MLB owner in the first place, but Miami might be stuck with him for a lifetime.

• Bruce Sherman net worth (estimated): $500 million

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For many years, the Tampa Bay Rays were the feel-good story as the perennial playoff contender who always found ways to squeeze the most out of a tiny budget. Years later, it’s become evident that just being in contention is good enough for Sherman. Since the 2014 season, the Rays payroll has eclipsed $80 million just twice (2022 and 2024).

• Stuart Sternberg net worth (estimated): $800 million

The Rays’ ceiling should be so much higher. Keep in mind that a significant portion of the club’s payroll is covered by league revenue sharing, so this team consistently finishing near the bottom of attendance can’t be used as an excuse for not spending more. Under Sternberg, the Rays simply don’t want to spend more money and that makes it unlikely we see this club even returning to the American League Championship Series for years to come.

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While Arturo Moreno is one of the worst MLB owners, he at least cares about the team and attempts to put a competitive roster out on the field. The Los Angeles Angels payroll in 2025 ($206 million luxury tax projection) is right in line with the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. The club also ranked 14th in 2024, eighth in 2023 and ninth in 2022.

• Arte Moreno net worth (Forbes): $5.1 billion

What drags the Angels owner down this list is his decision-making. Los Angeles is not a well-run organization, there are examples of that that go well beyond the diamond. Moreno is also a part of the reason why the Angels failed to re-sign Shohei Ohtani. He turned down multi-billion offers to sell the club a few years ago saddling this fan base with him for years to come.

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The good news for the Minnesota Twins is that the Pohlad family might not be on this list for long. Following the 2024 season, the club announced that the team it owned since 1984 would be put up for sale. What puts him on this list is what’s happened in the years leading up to this point. As highlighted by Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, ownership cut payroll by $30 million after winning a division title in 2023.

• Pohlad family net worth (Forbes): $3.8 billion

This offseason, the Twins haven’t signed a single major league free agent. Lost TV revenue certainly plays a part of this, but 24,000-plus fans have still shown up for home games over the years and there’s more money coming from the MLB revenue-sharing system. The Pohlad family is also one of the few on this list with a net worth north of $2 billion, but ownership is increasingly operating as a small-budget team. A sale can’t come soon enough.

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One of the primary factors in determining the worst MLB owners is their willingness to invest in the club in comparison with their financial resources. Bob Castellini could certainly make this list on that basis, but what locks him in is how he treats the city of Cincinnati and its fans. When fans became vocal about ownership repeatedly cutting its investment in the team, club president Phil Castellini publicly taunted them and asked “Where you gonna go?“.

• Castellini family net worth (estimated): $400 million

When attendance dropped, the top of the organization suggested they could always leave Cincinnati. Notably, the Reds also increased season ticket prices for the 2024 campaign after missing the playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons. Even some of the worst owners in sports don’t treat their customers like this, but the Castellini family has developed a reputation for it. If the Castellini family is this unhappy, maybe they should’ve sold the club by now.

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Winning the National League in 2007 was evidently enough on-field success for the Monfort brothers. The Colorado Rockies have made the playoffs just twice since 2010 and they are in the midst of six years with a sub-.470 winning percentage that includes consecutive 100-loss seasons. One would think after all this losing, the Rockies farm system would at least be in a good position. Entering 2025, ESPN ranks it 18th in MLB and The Athletic ranked this farm system 23rd.

• Monfort brothers net worth (estimated): $700 million

That’s a reflection on the Rockies front office and its investment in proper player development. The Manfort family allowed for one splash free-agent signing in recent years, a $182 million contract for the oft-injured Kris Bryant. It was widely criticized around the league and seemingly hamstrung any other potential efforts to improve the roster. Inexplicably, the Monfort brothers have also allowed general manager Bill Schmidt to stick around despite a losing record and bad farm system.

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Jerry Reinsdorf is easily one of the worst MLB owners right now, but he secures a bottom-three spot for a particular reason. Reinsdorf’s insistence on being involved in baseball operations has led to some horrendous decision-making, with his loyalty to Tony La Russa further dragging this club down. It’s also a strong indictment on Reinsdorf when he seems to have minimal support within the franchise.

• Jerry Reinsdorf net worth (Forbes): $2.1 billion

Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic spoke to former and current White Sox staffers who all pointed the finger at the owner who “thinks he knows everything” about baseball. Mind you, the on-field results haven’t reflected his self-confidence for years. Reinsdorf isn’t investing in player development, analytics, technology and even team travel the way successful clubs do. Reinsdorf’s fingerprints are all over the White Sox organization and it’s no surprise they are now a perennial cellar-dweller.

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By now, everyone knows why John Fisher is one of the worst owners in sports. After inheriting his money from Gap founders Doris and Donald Fisher, John has consistently found ways to drive his baseball team further into the ground. Every action he’s taken in the past five-plus years has been driven by one purpose, to relocate the team out of the Bay Area. Fittingly, he even botched the relocation to Las Vegas.

• John Fisher net worth (Forbes): $3.1 billion

We also can’t give him any credit for the Athletics payroll in 2025 increasing, since it was an MLBPA grievance that ultimately required this club to spend $105 million on player salaries this upcoming season. Playing in a minor-league ballpark is an embarrassment, especially when it’s by choice (unlike the Tampa Bay Rays). The only real beneficiary of Fisher owning the Athletics is Gap, who no longer has to deal with him on the board of directors.

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Bob Nutting is the worst owner in MLB. When Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington asked Nutting for more money to improve the Pirates roster, he was informed that would have to come out of the team’s baseball operations budget (The Athletic). In short, making even marginal improvements to the Pirates roster requires the sacrifice of scouting and/or player development. Either that or more staffers get fired.

• Bob Nutting net worth (estimated): $1.1 billion

Nutting is so adamant about spending as little money as possible that even with just an $86 million payroll, the team released Rowdy Tellez when he was just four plate appearances shy of a $200,000 bonus. The Pirates owner also told fans in 2024 that he’d increase spending and then privately told club officials he wasn’t going to do that. With some young talent on cheap, long-term contracts – Paul Skenes, Bryan Reynolds, ONeil Cruz and Jared Jones – this should be the time to spend. Nutting simply doesn’t want to. The Dodgers aren’t MLB’s biggest problems, owners like Nutting are.

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