Tom Krasovic: Would a Padres sale help the club win it all?
November 14, 2025
November 2025
10 comments
For those who cannot access behind the potential paywall…below is Tom’s article. Sorry if this isn’t allowed.
Headline: Would a Padres sale help the club win it all?
It might be good if Jeff Moorad buys the Padres, whose leaders announced Thursday they’re open to selling the club.
Please stop groaning.
This time around Moorad, if he so desires, seems to have the money to do it right.
Moorad apparently didn’t in 2009, when he bought the Padres on a layaway plan, subject to final approval that a cadre of Major League Baseball’s owners denied him in 2012, ultimately setting up a group led by Peter Seidler and Ron Fowler to buy the team that August, for a reported $800 million.
The Padres stunk for most of Moorad’s tenure and for several years after the sale, casting Moorad’s stewardship in an unflattering light.
Valued by Forbes at $1.95 billion, the small-market Padres have appreciated robustly since Moorad left the scene in 2012.
Moorad’s wealth has skyrocketed, too.
Two months ago, the former Padres CEO made a killing, selling his stake in McLaren Racing for “more than $5 billion,” per Axios. Five years earlier Moorad led an investment in McLaren Racing, valued at $500 million.
Also, Moorad made a sweet profit on his Padres shares upon selling.
His understanding of the burgeoning regional TV boom in MLB, which was soon to come to San Diego, led him to in effect buy low on a Padres franchise that at the time ranked near MLB’s bottom in local TV money and revenues.
Including a lengthy career as a powerhouse MLB agent, the UCLA alum’s career suggests an understanding of high-stakes dealmaking, sports markets and corporate media’s impact on sports industries.
None of that means Moorad has the chops to help transform the Padres into a first-time World Series champion.
But he understands the MLB industry on several levels, having also served as CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2004-08. And his Padres tenure did spin off a few highlights worth noting. The 2010 team won 90 games on MLB’s lowest payroll, in part because of a trade — unpopular with fans and financially driven — that Moorad demanded of general manager Kevin Towers, sending Jake Peavy and his $52-million guaranteed contract to the Chicago White Sox in return for pitchers headed by Clayton Richard in July 2009. Peavy, who was past his prime seasons, would struggle with durability issues.
Also, there were draft successes: World Series champion and ace Max Fried, infielder Jedd Gyorko and catcher Austin Hedges.
Front-office executive A.J. Hinch, a Moorad hire, returned to managing and led the 2017 Houston Astros to the franchise’s first World Series trophy, although he lost his job following MLB’s determination that his team benefited from illegal sign-stealing.
I don’t know if Moorad has any interest in buying the Padres, or if anything relating to his not making the final cut in 2012 would be held against him.
But, here’s a potentially large reason to consider him.
Padres CEO Erik Greupner worked with the Padres in two of the three years in which Moorad was the team’s CEO.
Greupner is under contract through 2029. Per The Athletic, he owns a small stake in the team.
Would a Moorad-Greupner reunion ease the challenges of an ownership transition? Seems plausible.
The Padres will attract several prospective buyers. Non-billionaires needn’t apply.
If buyers view this as a vanity purchase, which is often the case, the Padres would be more attractive than other MLB teams that may become available — be it an expansion club in markets such as Portland, Nashville, Salt Lake City or Charlotte; or the Colorado Rockies. That’s because the Padres are a hot ticket. They finished second of 30 MLB teams in attendance in 2023 and 2025 and in the top five in several other recent years.
On the baseball side, prospective buyers will have to consider two big-picture questions:
Would it be wise to trade Fernando Tatis Jr., 26, in return for multiple young players and long-term salary relief, as part of a reset that recognizes that Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, each 33 and under a massive contract, are likely untradeable?
Would it be better, instead, to push hard to win the 2026 World Series and perhaps 2027 World Series?
On the financial side, prospective buyers will have a large amount of complexity to sort out.
The lawsuit filed last January by Seidler’s former wife, Sheel — who holds a 24% stake in the ballclub — against two of Seidler’s brothers, Robert and Matthew Seidler, will have produced significant information that potential Padres investors can access and must want to comprehend.
Robert Seidler is a co-founder and managing partner of Seidler Equity Partners, co-founded in 1992 by Peter Seidler, who had been the managing partner. Matthew Seidler is a partner in the same company. A complicating factor: we don’t know what role Seidler Equity Partners played in Peter Seidler’s minority purchase of the Padres in 2012. It appears that history might be part of the explanation for the legal dispute among Seidler’s survivors.
The unknowns all-around are great here.
So, regarding whether a Padres sale will move the club closer to its first World Series title, I can offer only another question:
Who the heck knows?
I feel dumber after reading this. Highlights of this Pulitzer Prize worthy article include:
Asking in the title if a sale will help improve title chances, and then after mostly nonsense rambling concluding the article with who knows?
Focusing most of the article on the idea that Jeff Moorad would rebuy the Padres. Which was a disaster the first time. Not to mention I dunno why MLB would ever allow this. When do you ever hear of a failed owner getting to become an owner again later? Especially in the same league AND the same team? (Honorable mention here to the author actually admitting he has no idea if Moorad wants to buy the team again. So why are you writing an article almost solely about that?)
Citing the Peavy trade to the White Sox as helping the team win 90 games in 2010 and being some masterclass move. Except the Padres didn’t get jack shit back that helped them that year. Just some prospects, of which only one (Clayton Richard) did anything of note as a Padre.
Highlighting AJ Hinch going from the Padres to managing the Astros to a title. And then immediately mentioning the sign stealing scandal during the same season that cost him his job. And that in the authors mind is somehow a highlight and reflects positively on the Padres for some reason?
My personal favorite part where the author highlights “draft successes” that happened under Moorad ownership. Which according to him include Max Fried (valid), Jedd Gyorko (LOL), and Austin Hedges (mid). That’s the best lineup of guys you could come up with to backup your argument? And you looked at that and thought yeah, this is DEFINITELY a convincing argument that the Moorad years were just chock full of amazing draft picks.
I know Krasovic is a long time San Diego sports writer, but MY GOD this is bad even by local media standards. We really need better media personalities.
Did Jeff Moorad pay him to write this or something?
Let’s get Emma Stone, Tom Delonge, and Tony Hawk to buy the team
Lmao. Maybe in two decades. Check back
This roster as constructed currently is going to need a lot more money infused into it to be competitive for a championship. The long terms deals to Machado/Tatis are only going up in terms of yearly cash outlay and the farm is pretty tapped out in terms of major league ready talent that could contribute at a high level.
Based on the past few years since Pete’s passing its pretty obvious that the remaining Seidlers don’t have the financial power or motivation to invest significantly more into the Padres to get them to a championship level roster. The team is carrying significant amount of debt, at least 300mil based on the Acee article and has no guaranteed revenue source like a TV deal to fall back on.
Based on all the above information, its pretty easy to conclude that the best move is to sell the team. Sucks that Peter’s vision couldn’t be carried through but I can’t blame his remaining family for wanting to sell. His brothers clearly didn’t want the team and it basically fell into their laps when Peter passed away early. Peter’s kids are literally children still and in an ideal world Peter lives another 20-30 yrs and passes it on to them once they’re old enough.
Tom typically talks in circles. This article is no different. There is really no point to this article other than him having to put pen to paper.
No
Isn’t the Seidler regime the most successful administration in the club’s history for it’s short duration? I’m not talking about the 2 World Series trips. Simply the sustained success and winning percentage. How would a sale go to improve the Padres’ chances? Any change is a coin flip.
First impressions are long lasting. Pass on Moorad. Don’t care that he sold McLaren Racing for $5B. It seems Jeff called in a favor.
10 comments
For those who cannot access behind the potential paywall…below is Tom’s article. Sorry if this isn’t allowed.
Headline: Would a Padres sale help the club win it all?
It might be good if Jeff Moorad buys the Padres, whose leaders announced Thursday they’re open to selling the club.
Please stop groaning.
This time around Moorad, if he so desires, seems to have the money to do it right.
Moorad apparently didn’t in 2009, when he bought the Padres on a layaway plan, subject to final approval that a cadre of Major League Baseball’s owners denied him in 2012, ultimately setting up a group led by Peter Seidler and Ron Fowler to buy the team that August, for a reported $800 million.
The Padres stunk for most of Moorad’s tenure and for several years after the sale, casting Moorad’s stewardship in an unflattering light.
Valued by Forbes at $1.95 billion, the small-market Padres have appreciated robustly since Moorad left the scene in 2012.
Moorad’s wealth has skyrocketed, too.
Two months ago, the former Padres CEO made a killing, selling his stake in McLaren Racing for “more than $5 billion,” per Axios. Five years earlier Moorad led an investment in McLaren Racing, valued at $500 million.
Also, Moorad made a sweet profit on his Padres shares upon selling.
His understanding of the burgeoning regional TV boom in MLB, which was soon to come to San Diego, led him to in effect buy low on a Padres franchise that at the time ranked near MLB’s bottom in local TV money and revenues.
Including a lengthy career as a powerhouse MLB agent, the UCLA alum’s career suggests an understanding of high-stakes dealmaking, sports markets and corporate media’s impact on sports industries.
None of that means Moorad has the chops to help transform the Padres into a first-time World Series champion.
But he understands the MLB industry on several levels, having also served as CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2004-08. And his Padres tenure did spin off a few highlights worth noting. The 2010 team won 90 games on MLB’s lowest payroll, in part because of a trade — unpopular with fans and financially driven — that Moorad demanded of general manager Kevin Towers, sending Jake Peavy and his $52-million guaranteed contract to the Chicago White Sox in return for pitchers headed by Clayton Richard in July 2009. Peavy, who was past his prime seasons, would struggle with durability issues.
Also, there were draft successes: World Series champion and ace Max Fried, infielder Jedd Gyorko and catcher Austin Hedges.
Front-office executive A.J. Hinch, a Moorad hire, returned to managing and led the 2017 Houston Astros to the franchise’s first World Series trophy, although he lost his job following MLB’s determination that his team benefited from illegal sign-stealing.
I don’t know if Moorad has any interest in buying the Padres, or if anything relating to his not making the final cut in 2012 would be held against him.
But, here’s a potentially large reason to consider him.
Padres CEO Erik Greupner worked with the Padres in two of the three years in which Moorad was the team’s CEO.
Greupner is under contract through 2029. Per The Athletic, he owns a small stake in the team.
Would a Moorad-Greupner reunion ease the challenges of an ownership transition? Seems plausible.
The Padres will attract several prospective buyers. Non-billionaires needn’t apply.
If buyers view this as a vanity purchase, which is often the case, the Padres would be more attractive than other MLB teams that may become available — be it an expansion club in markets such as Portland, Nashville, Salt Lake City or Charlotte; or the Colorado Rockies. That’s because the Padres are a hot ticket. They finished second of 30 MLB teams in attendance in 2023 and 2025 and in the top five in several other recent years.
On the baseball side, prospective buyers will have to consider two big-picture questions:
Would it be wise to trade Fernando Tatis Jr., 26, in return for multiple young players and long-term salary relief, as part of a reset that recognizes that Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado, each 33 and under a massive contract, are likely untradeable?
Would it be better, instead, to push hard to win the 2026 World Series and perhaps 2027 World Series?
On the financial side, prospective buyers will have a large amount of complexity to sort out.
The lawsuit filed last January by Seidler’s former wife, Sheel — who holds a 24% stake in the ballclub — against two of Seidler’s brothers, Robert and Matthew Seidler, will have produced significant information that potential Padres investors can access and must want to comprehend.
Robert Seidler is a co-founder and managing partner of Seidler Equity Partners, co-founded in 1992 by Peter Seidler, who had been the managing partner. Matthew Seidler is a partner in the same company. A complicating factor: we don’t know what role Seidler Equity Partners played in Peter Seidler’s minority purchase of the Padres in 2012. It appears that history might be part of the explanation for the legal dispute among Seidler’s survivors.
The unknowns all-around are great here.
So, regarding whether a Padres sale will move the club closer to its first World Series title, I can offer only another question:
Who the heck knows?
I feel dumber after reading this. Highlights of this Pulitzer Prize worthy article include:
Asking in the title if a sale will help improve title chances, and then after mostly nonsense rambling concluding the article with who knows?
Focusing most of the article on the idea that Jeff Moorad would rebuy the Padres. Which was a disaster the first time. Not to mention I dunno why MLB would ever allow this. When do you ever hear of a failed owner getting to become an owner again later? Especially in the same league AND the same team? (Honorable mention here to the author actually admitting he has no idea if Moorad wants to buy the team again. So why are you writing an article almost solely about that?)
Citing the Peavy trade to the White Sox as helping the team win 90 games in 2010 and being some masterclass move. Except the Padres didn’t get jack shit back that helped them that year. Just some prospects, of which only one (Clayton Richard) did anything of note as a Padre.
Highlighting AJ Hinch going from the Padres to managing the Astros to a title. And then immediately mentioning the sign stealing scandal during the same season that cost him his job. And that in the authors mind is somehow a highlight and reflects positively on the Padres for some reason?
My personal favorite part where the author highlights “draft successes” that happened under Moorad ownership. Which according to him include Max Fried (valid), Jedd Gyorko (LOL), and Austin Hedges (mid). That’s the best lineup of guys you could come up with to backup your argument? And you looked at that and thought yeah, this is DEFINITELY a convincing argument that the Moorad years were just chock full of amazing draft picks.
I know Krasovic is a long time San Diego sports writer, but MY GOD this is bad even by local media standards. We really need better media personalities.
Did Jeff Moorad pay him to write this or something?
Let’s get Emma Stone, Tom Delonge, and Tony Hawk to buy the team
Lmao. Maybe in two decades. Check back
This roster as constructed currently is going to need a lot more money infused into it to be competitive for a championship. The long terms deals to Machado/Tatis are only going up in terms of yearly cash outlay and the farm is pretty tapped out in terms of major league ready talent that could contribute at a high level.
Based on the past few years since Pete’s passing its pretty obvious that the remaining Seidlers don’t have the financial power or motivation to invest significantly more into the Padres to get them to a championship level roster. The team is carrying significant amount of debt, at least 300mil based on the Acee article and has no guaranteed revenue source like a TV deal to fall back on.
Based on all the above information, its pretty easy to conclude that the best move is to sell the team. Sucks that Peter’s vision couldn’t be carried through but I can’t blame his remaining family for wanting to sell. His brothers clearly didn’t want the team and it basically fell into their laps when Peter passed away early. Peter’s kids are literally children still and in an ideal world Peter lives another 20-30 yrs and passes it on to them once they’re old enough.
Tom typically talks in circles. This article is no different. There is really no point to this article other than him having to put pen to paper.
No
Isn’t the Seidler regime the most successful administration in the club’s history for it’s short duration? I’m not talking about the 2 World Series trips. Simply the sustained success and winning percentage. How would a sale go to improve the Padres’ chances? Any change is a coin flip.
First impressions are long lasting. Pass on Moorad. Don’t care that he sold McLaren Racing for $5B. It seems Jeff called in a favor.