FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — More than two months after the Texas Rangers filed for bankruptcy, the team now leading the AL West finds itself in an unusual and unexpected place: on the auction block.

Instead of getting the judge’s quick approval to sell the ballclub to Major League Baseball’s preferred buyer, a group led by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, the team will be sold at an auction Wednesday — one of the few ever held for a pro team.

There won’t be fancy numbered paddles or a fast-talking auctioneer, but Ryan’s group could well end up in a bidding war with billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

“I don’t think anyone could have predicted that it was going to get to the level that it has,” said Wayne McDonnell, a professor at New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.

The team hoped its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May would finally push through the sale to a group led by Ryan and sports attorney Chuck Greenberg, a deal stalled for months by angry creditors.

But the case has been anything but smooth or predictable — with lenders accusing the team of bankruptcy code violations, and the court-appointed restructuring officer opposing the auction that he initially suggested.

Ryan, also the team’s president, and manager Ron Washington were called to testify at one hearing to discuss operations and players’ morale. New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez even entered the fray, filing an objection over concerns that he and other former players may not get the millions they are owed from the Rangers.

In the latest courtroom drama, the restructuring officer on Friday recommended foregoing the auction and selling the team to the Greenberg-Ryan group after it increased its bid and removed provisions considered favorable to team owner Tom Hicks.

But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn rejected that idea after two other bidders indicated they were planning to bid. Creditors did not want the auction canceled, even though Greenberg-Ryan’s higher offer is now off the table.

“Ultimately this is the lenders’ money, and if they’re willing to roll the dice, then I’m going to let them do it,” Lynn said Friday.

Among the few pro teams sold during bankruptcy proceedings, the Baltimore Orioles had a fast-paced, 15-round auction in 1993. Two competing groups merged during the auction and ended up with a winning bid of $173 million — then a record price for a sports team.

The Rangers’ auction may be even more dramatic. Cuban, one of sports’ most colorful owners, has said he’s wanted to buy a baseball team since he reportedly offered more than $1 billion for the Chicago Cubs, but either dropped out or was rejected by the MLB before the team’s sale last year.

Cuban continues reviewing documents in the Rangers sale but intends to bid at the auction, his attorney said Friday. Houston businessman Jim Crane, who bid during the team’s original process last year, is preparing to bid at the auction with new investors or may join forces with Cuban, his attorney said.

They must bid at least $15 million more than the starting price of $306.7 million, which is the cash portion of Greenberg-Ryan’s $520 million offer for the team. Subsequent bids must go up at least $2 million. The judge may allow breaks after each round so bidders can call their investors.

But after the auction, Major League Baseball can throw out the highest bid and choose the second-highest, although it could face hefty fines and other sanctions if the judge were to determine that it didn’t have good reason to do so.

If other potential buyers decide not to bid after all, the Greenberg-Ryan group will be declared the winner. Then team attorneys would have to convince the judge that last year’s bidding process was competitive before the Greenberg-Ryan group was selected, and that its offer is still the best. In addition to $520 million for the team, the bid includes another $55 million or so for parking lots.

Lenders will try to block the sale, repeating their allegations of bankruptcy code violations. In the days before the filing, some liabilities — including an office building lease and $9 million in adviser fees — were transferred to the Rangers from Hicks’ other companies that are not part of the bankruptcy. But during the auction, the Greenberg-Ryan group can opt to sweeten its bid by removing some of those provisions — which probably won’t be in other bidders’ offers.

The auction may not bring an end to the Rangers’ courtroom saga.

Creditors are expected to sue Hicks’ other entities to try to recover the full $525 million in loans that his sports group defaulted on, since they’ll get just $75 million in the team’s bankruptcy plan.

The Greenberg-Ryan group’s bid includes paying the full $204 million owed to unsecured creditors — including $24.9 million in deferred compensation owed to Rodriguez. The Major League Baseball Players Association requires new owners, regardless of the provisions in their bids, to pay the team’s former players what they are owed.

The Rangers don’t want to end up like hockey’s Phoenix Coyotes, whose bankruptcy case turned into a lengthy and bitter legal battle.

No bidders emerged for an auction last year, but the judge rejected a $250 million bid from the team’s preferred buyer, who wanted to move the team to Canada. The National Hockey League, which vehemently opposed that buyer, assembled a bid — but it was rejected because the financial terms were deemed unfair to owner Jerry Moyes and ex-coach Wayne Gretzky.

The NHL eventually amended the terms and later bought the franchise for about $140 million, though the league continues trying to sell the team.