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Phillies, Pirates rate among slowest to pay suppliers

An Allentown firm analyzed all 30 MLB teams to determine the creditworthiness of each one.

The Phillies and Pirates are among the bottom third in paying suppliers within the agreed terms, according to a report released by Creditsafe, a global business intelligence firm based in Allentown.

The study looked at the overall creditworthiness of all 30 MLB teams, as well as how quickly each paid its bills in the first quarter of 2017.

According to the study, the Baltimore Orioles rank as the most financially stable MLB team, as well as the only team with a perfect credit score. At the other end of the spectrum, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers both receive the lowest rating due in part to prior bankruptcies. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the slowest to pay their suppliers with an average payment being 52 days beyond agreed terms and a credit score that rates their creditworthiness as very high risk.

"Days beyond terms [DBT] is a commonly used business credit term that indicates how long a business has taken to pay its suppliers beyond the agreed payment terms. It is often cited as the most predictive data item when assessing a company's ability to stay in business. We have reviewed the DBT value for each of the MLB teams for the period of January through March of 2017.  Our analysis revealed most of the MLB teams pay their suppliers within terms," said Matthew Debbage, CEO of Creditsafe USA and Asia. "We also discovered stragglers, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Detroit Tigers, the New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels were the slowest in the league, taking on average 52 days beyond terms to pay their suppliers."

Among the MLB teams taking the longest to pay suppliers are:

  1. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 52 days beyond terms

  2. The Pittsburgh Pirates: 31 days beyond terms

  3. The New York Mets: 12 days beyond terms

  4. The Detroit Tigers: 10 days beyond terms

  5. The Kansas City Royals: 8 days beyond terms

  6. The Boston Red Sox: 7 days beyond terms

  7. The Chicago Cubs: 6 days beyond terms

  8. The St. Louis Cardinals: 6 days beyond terms

  9. The San Francisco Giants: 6 days beyond terms

  10. The Phillies: 4 days beyond terms