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Mike Bianchi: Why losing its biggest investor could be the best thing for Orlando’s baseball dream

Call me crazy.

Call me delusional.

Call me the last optimist standing.

Call me the only one who believes Orlando’s longshot bid to bring the Tampa Bay Rays to Orlando was actually enhanced earlier this week when major investor Dr. Rick Workman defected to an ownership group that already has a deal in place to buy the Rays.

When news broke on Monday that the Orlando Dreamers — the group started by late, great Magic founder Pat Williams in 2019 in an effort to bring MLB to Central Florida — had lost their two biggest financial backers (Workman and billionaire attorney John Morgan), it sounded like Central Florida’s six-year attempt to land a Major League Baseball team had finally struck out. But if you step back and look at the bigger picture, this development might actually improve Orlando’s odds — however slim they remain — of eventually seeing big-league baseball in town.

The Orlando Dreamers as an investment group may be dead, but Orlando’s baseball dream is not.

Let’s start with the cold reality: Orlando was never going to land a franchise through the front door. The Dreamers’ effort always had a Hail Mary, Plan B quality about it. As appealing as Orlando’s booming population and tourism numbers are, Major League Baseball hasn’t exactly been pining for another Florida market after watching the Rays and Marlins struggle to fill seats.

From the beginning, Orlando’s path to a team boiled down to one thing: the future of the Tampa Bay Rays. If St. Petersburg and Tampa could somehow come together and finally finance a permanent home for the franchise, then Orlando was out of luck. If they couldn’t, though, the door remained cracked open. That’s the leverage point Orlando has always been waiting on — and it still is.

Which brings us back to Workman. Until this week, Workman was supposed to be the “anchor investor” for the Dreamers. He lives in Windermere, founded Heartland Dental, and has been one of the wealthiest and most enthusiastic backers of Orlando’s bid.

Now? Workman has apparently jumped ship (or has he?). The Athletic reported Monday that he’s the third-largest investor in a group led by Jacksonville homebuilder and Stetson alumnus Patrick Zalupski that is negotiating to buy the Rays outright. That deal could close in the coming weeks, and that group is already scouting stadium sites around Tampa Bay.

On the surface, that sounds like a crushing blow for Orlando. But think about it: if Orlando’s only realistic path to a team was Rays relocation, then having an Orlando-based investor inside the Rays’ ownership group is not a setback; it’s a potential ace card. Don’t kid yourself, adding Workman to the fold wasn’t just financial move by the Rays’ new ownership group; it was a strategic move.

If Tampa Bay gets its act together and builds the Rays a new ballpark, then Orlando was always dead in the water. But if the stalemate drags on — as it has for decades — and the Rays ownership group decides it’s time to consider alternatives, who better to champion Orlando than an owner who lives here and has already publicly advocated for Central Florida? Workman knows the political landscape. He’s had conversations with county leaders. He has credibility as someone who tried to bring baseball here once before.

In other words: Workman’s money and influence may ultimately be more useful inside the Rays’ boardroom than outside it.

Granted, even with Workman’s presence, Orlando remains the longest of shots. The Rays’ ownership group is currently focused on squeezing the best deal possible out of Tampa Bay. And if history tells us anything, it’s that MLB is willing to play the relocation card just long enough to extract concessions from local governments.

That’s essentially what John Morgan, the other major Dreamers investor, warned when he bowed out on Tuesday. “I am out. The fix is in,” Morgan wrote in an email to the Orlando Sentinel, accusing the Rays’ group of stringing Orlando along as a bargaining chip. Morgan has never been shy with his words, and he may be right: the Rays could well use Orlando’s interest as leverage to secure public subsidies in Tampa.

But Morgan’s exit doesn’t change the underlying truth: Orlando’s odds have always hinged on Tampa’s inability to build a ballpark. And on that front, nothing has changed.

Orlando has an owner inside the Rays’ tent who has a vested interest in this market. If the Rays’ stadium quagmire continues, Orlando is better positioned than before to catch the fallout.

I’ve written it once and I’ll continue to write it until they break ground on a new stadium in Tampa: The proposed buyers of the Rays are Florida-rooted businessmen who really don’t care if the team is located in Tampa or Orlando.

The Dreamers may insist their mission goes on, but the truth is Orlando’s future in Major League Baseball is no longer about the Dreamers at all. It’s about the Rays, their potential new owners, and whether the Tampa Bay region finally builds them a home.

So yes, Orlando is still Plan B for the Rays, but that’s all we’ve ever been. This week’s investor shakeup doesn’t kill the dream. If anything, it might have just made it a little more realistic. …

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New North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick has banned New England Patriots’ scouts at UNC because he feels he’s been disrespected by the Patriots. Of course, Belichick would have never even known the Patriots scouts were on campus until he saw them trying to tape his practice. … I’m not saying that injury prone Tua Tagovailoa has become gun shy, but his checkdowns have checkdowns. … UCF’s Jaden Nixon opened last week’s game with a 92-yard touchdown return and added touchdown runs of 87 and 66 yards in the 68-7 victory over North Carolina. It seems he was channeling the spirit of his presidential namesake. Opponents tried to Watergate him, but Nixon just kept breaking in for touchdowns. …

Mikey likes: LSU over Florida by 10, Miami over USF by 14, Jags over Bengals by 2 in Upset Special, Patriots over Dolphins by1 in Upset Special II, Texans over Bucs by 5, Pink slip over coach Mike McDaniel by Week 5.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen