MLB Loaned Tom Hicks Millions

The Texas Rangers were a popular darkhorse pick to win the AL West this season, and for a time they were leading the division. Unfortunately over the last few weeks they've seen their lead on the Angels disappear and are a game back going into Friday night's action. In fact, if you were so inclined, you could say that the Rangers' division lead has gone in the red.

Which seems somewhat apropos at the moment because it's not just their division lead that the Rangers couldn't maintain. Apparently owner Tom Hicks couldn't meet last month's payroll and had to borrow $15 million from Major League Baseball to pay his team.

Major League Baseball within the last week loaned millions to Tom Hicks, the evidently cash-strapped owner of the Texas Rangers, and will continue to offer financial assistance to Hicks until he is able to sell the team, a major league source with direct knowledge of the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday.

"He won't be running the team much longer," the source said. "Major League Baseball is helping him through this until someone else can be put in place to run the club."

Rangers spokesman John Blake said the club would have no comment on the team's financial situation. Rich Levin, a spokesman for the commissioner's office, said MLB does not comment on its teams' finances.

Hicks, who also owns the NHL's Dallas Stars, announced back in March that he was willing to sell a minority stake in the team but after his sports group defaulted on a payment for a $525 million loan they took out, he said he'd sell a majority stake in the team.

The Rangers also cut down their front office staff by ten percent earlier this season.