Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter have joined forces in their bid to buy the Miami Marlins, according to sources familiar with the talks.
The former Florida governor and retired New York Yankees star once were rivals for the Major League Baseball franchise but now have teamed up to try and buy the team, the sources said. They are competing against a New York financier named Wayne Rothbaum, manager of Quogue Capital, a source close to the situation said. It is not known if other would-be suitors of the Marlins remain in the hunt.
The alliance pairs one of Miami's most prominent political leaders _ Bush lives in Coral Gables, Fla. _ with one of the most famous names in baseball. Jeter retired from the Yankees in 2014 and has a house in Tampa.
Owner Jeffrey Loria has been fielding offers for the team, which moved into a county-owned stadium in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood in 2012.
