Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs Headline Forbes' List of Most Valuable MLB Teams

The New York Yankees continue to be the most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball.

On Wednesday, Forbes' Mike Ozanian noted the Yankees lead all MLB teams with a $4 billion valuation. They have held the top spot for 21 years, the total number of times Forbes has done the list. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a distant second at $3 billion, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($2.9 billion), San Francisco Giants ($2.85 billion) and Boston Red Sox ($2.8 billion). 

The only franchise with a valuation of less than $1 billion is the Tampa Bay Rays ($900 million).

The Miami Marlins are No. 29 on the list at $1 billion, which is $200 million less than Jeffrey Loria sold them for last August.

Ozanian explained how the Marlins' value could eventually exceed the team's $1.2 billion sale price: 

"By doing new things like the Facebook streaming deal and the game in Williamsport between the Pirates and Cardinals, [MLB Commissioner Rob] Manfred has sparked more interest in younger fans and brought buzz back to the game. Manfred also worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to make sure the new owners of the Marlins fortified their balance sheet with more cash than they needed to buy the team, and reducing the amount of preferred equity (really debt for all practical purposes) Sherman wanted to use. As a result, CEO Derek Jeter has more skin in the game than he originally wanted."

Other notable franchise valuations include the New York Mets in sixth place ($2.1 billion) and the defending World Series champion Houston Astros at No. 11 ($1.65 billion). 

The Oakland Athletics, who are 26th in value, generated the least revenue last season at $210 million. 

By comparison, the Yankees' $619 million in revenue during the 2017 campaign was $97 million more than any other team.