The league voted during its quarterly meeting to relinquish control of the franchise and sell it to a consortium headed by real estate millionaire Ted Lerner, his son Mark and former Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten.
The deal comes two months after the city council agreed a 30-year deal for the team to play in a $710m ballpark as of 2008.
The hand-over of the club will be concluded in around one month.