PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners’ franchise value jumped by $100 million last year to $1.2 billion despite a disappointing on-field season, according to Forbes magazine in its annual financial report on Major League Baseball.
Forbes calculations place the Mariners at No. 12 among the 30 clubs in terms of franchise value. A year ago, the Mariners ranked 14th.
The Mariners rank third among the five American League West Division clubs.
The Los Angeles Angels are first (and eighth overall) at $1.34 billion, followed by the Texas Rangers (11th overall) at $1.23 billion. The Houston Astros are 15th overall at $1.1 billion, and the Oakland Athletics are 28th at $725 million.
Major League Baseball does not release it financial reports and has long disputed Forbes’ annual findings.
The magazine defines franchise value as the value of the club based on its current stadium deal without deduction for debt other than stadium debt.
The New York Yankees remain No. 1 in the rankings at $3.4 billion, which represents an increase of $200 million over 2015. The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $2.5 billion, followed by the Boston Red Sox at $2.3 billion.
The two Florida clubs rank at the bottom: the Miami Marlins are 29th at $675 million, and the Tampa Bay Rays are last at $650 million. The Kansas City Royals, the current world champions, are 25th at $865 million.
The yearly Forbes reports valued the Mariners at $373 million in 2002, the year after the club’s most recent postseason appearance. The franchise’s value has jumped nearly 325 percent over the last 14 years.
Forbes contends the Mariners generated $271 million last year in revenues, which is an increase of $21 million over 2015. But it contends the franchise’s operating income fell from $26.4 million to $17 million.
Rangers pick Hamels
Texas manager Jeff Banister confirmed what has long been expected: left-hander Cole Hamels will start for the Rangers on April 4 against the Mariners in the season opener.
Right-hander Felix Hernandez will start for the Mariners. It will be his eighth straight and ninth overall start in a season opener. He was 5-0 with a 1.83 ERA last season in five starts against Texas.
Hamels was 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA last season in four starts against the Mariners after joining the Rangers in a July 31 trade with Philadelphia. He started, and lost, the 2013 and 2015 season openers for Philadelphia.
Texas has started a different pitcher in each of its last seven openers.
The Mariners were the only team to beat Hamels after the trade; he was 7-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts for Texas. Overall, he was 13-8 with a 3.65 ERA in 32 starts. Hernandez was 18-9 with a 3.53 ERA in 31 starts.
Pitching plans
Right-handed Hisashi Iwakuma appears ticketed to close his spring with two starts in minor-league games after working 41/3 innings Monday in a 6-3 victory over the Dodgers.
The Mariners are working to line up their rotation for the regular season, which is complicated by two open dates in a 10-day span and the need to choose either Nathan Karns or James Paxton as their fifth starter.
Tentative plans have Taijuan Walker lined up to start Thursday against Colorado at Salt River Fields, Hernandez on Friday against the White Sox in Peoria and lefty Wade Miley on Saturday against the Dodgers in Peoria.
Iwakuma appears in line to start in minor-league games on Saturday and again March 31, an open date in big-league camp, in order to be lined up to face Texas on April 5 in the second game of the regular season.
The Mariners’ rotation for the regular season projects as Hernandez, Iwakuma, Miley, Walker and either Paxton or Karns.
Short hops
Lefty reliever Charlie Furbush tested his shoulder by throwing long toss on Wednesday, but there are still no firm plans for getting him into a Cactus League game. It’s hard to see how he doesn’t open the season on the disabled list. … First baseman Dae-Ho Lee is back in camp after being present earlier this week in Seattle for the birth of his son. … Outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was scratched from Wednesday’s game because of the flu. … Reliever Joel Peralta turned 40 on Wednesday.
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