John Moores interested in buying Astros, but there's a catch

John Moores is the majority owner of the Padres. He also has interest in the Astros. But he can't (potentially) buy the Astros until he transfers/sells his majority stake of the Padres to minority owner Jeff Moorad.

When will that happen? Well, they have three years to complete the deal, but Moorad says it won't happen before Opening Day:
"We may very well accelerate it, but we've made no decision on when that will be."

Astros For Sale and other non-issues

I missed this from last Friday, but Jon Heyman put this in his column:

Outgoing Padres owner John Moores is seen by some as a potential buyer of the Houston Astros, whose owner, Drayton McLane, is willing to at least field offers to sell the team. Moores has moved to Houston after the divorce that caused him to sell San Diego.

However. Fox26 got Moores to discount that rumor:

"I think the world of Drayton McLane and the Astros, but there's nothing to it. We've had no discussions whatsoever."

Mark Berman:

Moores pointed out to FOX 26 that he has always maintained a residence in his home town. Moores, who is selling the Padres to former Diamondbacks managing general partner Jeff Morrad, is still in control of his franchise. Moores said he plans to continue as chairman of the Padres for a maximum of four more years. He said that his role with the team could end sooner if Moorad accelerates his payments, which is entirely up to Moorad.

So the Astros aren't for sale. But they're not not for sale.

Does Heyman really think that a guy who just sold the Padres because of a divorce has the $600m+ to buy the Astros?