The San Diego Padres sales process has been slow to date, but now final bids are on the way from four groups.
The sale process for the San Diego Padres seems to be accelerating, according to an article by Dennis Lin and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that stated that the second and final round of bids are due some time in early- to mid-April. There are four groups of potential buyers still in the running, according to sources, although some negotiations could still continue going forward.
The names of the groups are familiar at this point. They include three billionaires—-Joe Lacob, Jose E. Feliciano and Daniel Friedkin, along with another group headed by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and Vuori founder Joe Kudla. The Padres are expected to sell for a price of at least $3 billion, according to multiple sources.
Given the timing here, it’s fair to ask if one reason the pace is picking up is related to the team’s expectations this season and some of the on-field issues to date. The Padres are projected to be a .500 team or slightly below, and that was before their starting rotation started dropping like flies due to injury issues.
The process started a week or so ago when erstwhile ace Nick Pivetta was quietly put on the shelf due to what manager Craig Stammen called “arm fatigue.” Then Joe Musgrove was declared in “a holding pattern,” according to Stammen, after his second start following his return from Tommy John surgery.
The final blow was literally, as starter Michael King was rocked by the Athletics, who hit home runs on three consecutive pitches that cast a pall over King’s ability to recover from injuries.
So what does this have to do with the sales price? If the Padres rotation continues to stay unhealthy and subsequently falter, the chances of reaching the .500 mark go down considerably. That diminishes fan interest and ticket sales, plus the immediate value of the franchise by at least a small amount, which means buyers could ask for a discount.
This wouldn’t go over well at all with the Seidler family, which set that $3 billion fairly early on once the season was over. MLB is also interested in boosting the sales price over the $2.8 billion that Steve Cohen paid to buy the Mets, the idea being that a rising price boosts all boats, the boats being each franchise and the subsequent value.
The accelerated pace may also have something to do with the need to make baseball moves. GM A.J. Preller took forever to sign an extension, but it’s fair to speculate that the team might lose him if something isn’t done quickly. Preller is known as one of the most active GMs in baseball, but he’s been largely hamstrung by the sales process and can’t be happy with the product that’s about to take the field for real in a couple of weeks.