Padres’ sale gets ownership approval

It’s the next step in the lengthy process as the Seidler family finalizes a reported $3.9 billion agreement to sell the club to a new ownership group led by Feliciano and Jones. The two sides were reportedly close to a deal earlier this month and it appears that the sale is going through. It’ll be finalized at the upcoming owners meeting in June. Pete Seidler spearheaded a group that purchased the club back in 2012 and he served as chairman until his passing in November, 2023. His family began exploring a potential sale of the club last year.

Diamond reports that the sale would be at an “MLB-record valuation of around $3.9 billion.” The deal is not yet official and would mean yet more private equity involvement in professional sports. However, it also might mean an infusion of capital for the Padres, which could prevent them from having to cut costs with the roster again.

No word yet on the financial terms or the duration of the deal. Several Padres’ players, including Manny Machado, had mentioned to the media over the weekend that Preller was deserving of an extension — especially after adding Nick Castellanos to the team’s lineup for the MLB minimum salary. Look for Preller to continue at the helm of baseball operations for the foreseeable future in San Diego.

John Seidler currently controls the Padres after the passing of his brother Peter in 2023. In Thursday’s press release, the Seidler family said it would continue to put “every resource into winning a World Series championship,” but that it wouldn’t comment further until the process of evaluating potential bids for the team plays out.

He’s getting a three-year deal. The 41-year-old Stammen pitched for the Padres from 2017-22 before retiring, amassing a 3.36 ERA in 394 1/3 innings along the way. He rejoined the Padres prior to the 2024 season, and he was one of three people with the title of special assistant to the major league staff and baseball operations last season.

Kutsenda, a co-founder of Seidler Equity Partners, will take control of the organization on an interim basis following the passing of Padres chairman and owner Peter Seidler earlier this week. Drellich adds that Seidler’s stake in the team is currently in a trust, but is expected to remain with the Seidler family.

Seidler was 63 years old. He spearheaded an ownership group that purchased the Padres back in 2012 and assumed control of the organization in 2020 after buying out former chairman Ron Fowler. Our thoughts are with the Seidler family, the Padres’ organization and the entire San Diego community.

It looked like that would be the case, based on chairman Peter Seidler’s statement Monday, but Preller made it more official today. Reports have suggested that the Preller-Melvin relationship is strained, but there wasn’t really any chance of the Padres moving on from Preller, and they surely figure they wouldn’t be able to do better than Melvin if they made a managerial switch.

Fowler has been at the helm for the Padres for nearly a decade, spearheading a group that purchased majority ownership in the franchise back in 2012. He also served on MLB’s labor policy committee the last few years and was recently involved in the league’s CBA negotiations. He’s elected to leave the organization, effective immediately.

Despite leading the Cardinals back to the postseason for the third straight season, largely on the strength of a franchise-record 17-game winning streak in September, Shildt was fired from his post as the team’s skipper in mid-October due to “philosophical differences.” He accepted a position with the Commissioner’s Office in December and will continue in that role in addition to joining Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s staff in San Diego next year.