The San Diego Padres have been up for sale since the end of last season, but now the process is close to ending.
San Diego Padres fans have been getting plenty of good news lately, and they just got another positive piece with the news that the process of selling the team could be ending soon, with a record sale price of approximately $3.5 billion as part of the transaction.
The report came from Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com, who referenced Dennis Lin of the Athletic. The mix of sellers remains the same, with the group including Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob and a pair of English Premier League owners, Jose E. Feliciano (Chelsea) and Dan Friedkin (Everton).
What’s noteworthy here is that all four bidders are still in the running, Adams added, and it’s especially surprising that the pair of English Premier League bidders are still involved. MLB generally prefers experienced US owners, so it would still be an upset if Friedkin or Feliciano ended up being the winner.
The other surprise is the price. Early reports had the Padres’ franchise value falling far below the $3.5 billion reference by Lin, with Forbes coming in at $1.9 billion and Sportico pegging the value at $2,3 billion, according to Adams. Other reports had the value far higher, and the last franchise purchase happened with Steve Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion back in 2020.
Lacob was presumed to be the front-runner early on, but Gores also has the deep pockets to satisfy the Seidler family with whatever the final number ends up being. The one stipulation the Seidler family made after the mess they made putting the team up for market is that the franchise would stay in San Diego, which doesn’t appear to be an issue for any of the four bidders.
The good news on the field part of this is that completing the sale could free up the Padres to make baseball moves, with the biggest priority being to shore up the injury-riddled rotation. The Padres are currently punching above their weight record-wise, with an eight-game winning streak having elevated the team’s record to 13-6 despite the predictions that the Pads would be a .500 team.
The clock is now ticking on the mid- to late-April timeline that’s been referenced as the completion date, and the current streak could actually help a little in the “timing is everything” category. The quiet winter was disappointing for Padres fans, but now they have multiple developments to be excited about, both on the field and off.