Eric Kutsenda has been named control person of the Padres, reports Evan Drellich of The Athletic. In a second post, Drellich adds that Kutsenda has an interim label in his title. This position was previously held by owner Peter Seidler, who recently passed away.
MLB clubs are often owned by multiple people, families or sometimes corporations, but the league recognizes one person per team as a control person. This individual represents the team in league matters and is a point of contact when the league needs to engage with the club. This person is often the principal owner but this unique situation may be temporary.
Drellich adds that Seidler’s stake in the team is currently in a trust. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported earlier this week that Seidler intended for the club to remain in his family for generations after he died and that the club intends to proceed with that plan. Seidler is survived by his wife and three children, so it’s possible that one of them will be named control person after succession plans are sorted out. That’s speculative but the interim tag suggests Kutsenda may just be a placeholder.
Seidler Equity Partners was co-founded by Seidler and Kutsenda, according to their respective bios on the SEP website.
Interim Control Person
My wife whenever she picks up a remote control but gives up 5 seconds later because it’s “too complicated”.
She does that to you, too?
=P
Put something in her hand that is less complicated to operate even if it doesn’t last as long!
Still too complicated
Meanwhile you’re Longtimecoming
Ha ha ha not, you boys think so highly of yourselves. Roll eyes
agnes gooch a clear case of pot/kettle. Rolling eyes
Opposite in my house. I hand it to my wife and say WTF is going on with this thing!!!!
Sounds like it is interim pending formal change request and approval by the league. If Kutsenda is still a share holder of SEP it would seem logical the SEP board would appoint him to control the Padres shares until a Siedler heir is deemed ready to take control. Anything Kutsenda would want to do with the Padres would still have be approved by SEP’s board.
SEP is a partnership. Their is no board like in a C Corp. The Padres ownership shares are not held by SEP, they were held by Peter personally and are now held in trust for Sheel and their children. Eric Kutsenda is a friend of Peter’s first and foremost. Anything Kutsenda wants to do with the Padres would have to be vetted against Peter’s written wishes for that trust and be Sheel’s final decision if she chooses to be involved.
That is not what the article article originally stated. It said SEP was actually the own of the share, which would make sense. It’s been well before the 2000s that anyone has purchased ownership shares in their name and not through an entity they control.
Its not. Seidler owned the shares in the Padres personally. Those shares are in a trust now that is controlled by Sheel Seidler. SEP is a partnership and has no board.
Ron Fowler, the previous managing partner of the Padres, owned his share in the team personally and not through some business entity.
Other than the Braves and Blue Jays that are owned by a publicly held corporation, I cannot think of a single business entity that is an owner of a team.
You wouldn’t. They aren’t actually companies like Turner and Rodger’s. But rather they are setup for tax sheltering and to protect the shares upon death or other extreme situations. But all that gets reference in media is the person is the primary principle of the entity. They are set up strictly for protection purposes. You also don’t ever hear of the actual business names of the team but rather referred to by their city and nickname. For example the New York Mets are incorporated as the The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc. the Yankees Yankee Global Enterprises, the Philadelphia Phillies are filed just as The Phillies, Or the cubs are full Chicago Cubs Baseball Club
SEP is an actual business. So doesn’t seem to apply.
Nintendo still holds a 10% stake in the Mariners after selling 90% to the current owner, John Stanton in 2016.
That is very different than the partnership shares being held by business entities. The shares Seidler held were personal, not SEP.
Makes sense. With many hands in the pot it will take time to get everything transferred and everything. A trust is sooo much better than a will.
It is. If someone leaves me the Phillies (for example) in a Will, I get taxed on that and have to sell the team just to pay the gub’ment
If it’s in a Trust, I get appointed “Trustee” and that’s it
What’s the true budget though? I think that’s a legitimate question with the ownership structure in flux. The Pads need to fill the roster out—won’t be cheap unless they start dealing prospects for cheaper alternatives.
I’m pretty sure Peter Seidler knew his time was running out so he must have had this planned.
It’s been a poorly kept secret for the past two years that Seidler did not have much time, so I’d imagine all of this was planned.
This is one of those jobs where noone knows what the Hell they do specifically but the make a lot of money.
I volunteer to join the group who knows not their responsibilities but makes much money.
Me too that’s the American dream lol. Basically we all want to be George Constanza when he worked with the Yankees.
Cotton uniforms, I tell you!
But do you have the qualifications?
“Seidler is survived by his wife and three children, so it’s possible that one of them will be named control person after succession plans are sorted out.”
If that we’re the case, then it would probably be his wife, since Peter’s eldest child is 10 years old.
Though would be funny to be at the Owner meetings and see little a kid playing just on their coloring book (whatever gen alpha is doing, playing roblox on iPads? tiktok? idk).
This is unrelated to the post. But I honestly believe Yamamoto is coming to St. Louis. Here is why. Nootbar. It will be a short time contract.
Probably $40 mil with a one year option. Great baseball town! Great defense. And ig St. Louis isn’t to his liking, ok.
Move on. Still I truly belive it is a viable opción for somebody doesn’t want to be enamored with glitz!
Yamamoto is going to get a very long term deal, at least 8 years, and more than $20 million AAV. This site projected 9/225. I think that is realistic.
I’ll pray for all the Padre fans out there that you don’t become the Angels of the National League.
Thanks. Not that I want to go back but any padres fan with a little age is used to being the A’s of the National League!
Thanks, but it’s been looking that way for a few years.
I still don’t understand why the Yankees didn’t attempt to trade Stanton to the Padres after the covid playoffs. He had the fortune of playing in warm San Diego without a soul in the stands to make him nervous while he was on a hot streak and he made everyone think he was a stud. The announcers couldn’t stop talking about how good Stanton had historically been in Petco park also. Knowing what we know now that Seidler did not care about future commitments it almost guarantees he would’ve entertained the idea. And honestly Stanton probably would’ve waived his NTC after the flurry of moves they made that year bc everyone though SD was legit for the foreseeable future. Cash didn’t even make the call. So bad.
This keeps coming up. Believe us, again, we don’t want him never did!
We? Did you get one of those jobs mentioned above? Can you hook a fellow up? I promise to not know my responsibilities! Thanks
I am George Castanza
Shrinkage Jerry!
A large portion of Yankee fans didn’t want him either yet he’s in pinstripes. It’s not up to the fans – it’s up to the front offices. And in this one specifically unusual situation the Yankees might’ve been able to pull one over on a desperate owner pulling out all the stop gaps bc he wanted to win before he died. But the point I’m trying to make is the call should have been made by Cash and pressure applied at the least regardless of SD was interested or not….would you agree to that?
he has a full no trade except Dodgers and Giants.
I’m not trying to be rude, but did you read what I wrote before you responded to it?
Kutsenda was Peter’s co-founder, minority partner in Seidler Equity Partners, and best friend. From what I understand he was the best man at Peter and Sheel’s wedding. Sheel asked him to handle things while she sorts out life without a husband and with 3 small children. Which is very understandable. Even though he has been ill for several years, the death of a spouse is devastating.
As has been noted, its a temporary situation. Peter’s share in the team are in a trust and Sheel controls that trust. Kutsenda is the interim control person of the team and the title means he is the point person in conversations with the league offices, not the sole decision maker for the team.
Peter also apparently put all his shares of Seidler Equity Partners in a trust. What is also interesting to me is how much funding will continue for the LuckyDuck Foundation. He was a profoundly good man who showed how much he cared for his fellow man even in death.
Those that have been following his health issues for some time know that he said he had set aside money to ensure that the Padres “could put a championship level team on the field for years to come”. We will see in the days and weeks to come how that plays out.
He is going to be sorely missed. Not just by his family and by baseball fans, but by the people of San Diego.
Major League Baseball said that Kutsenda will serve as temporary control person until a majority owner is approved. That may be Sheel Seidler if she decides to take over the team.
Not sure that she will considering how young their children are. She was an attorney, so she is certainly smart and knowledgeable enough to run the team.
Padres: “We need to trim about $50M off payroll for 2024.”
Fans: “No you don’t.”
Padres: “We plan on having an opening day payroll of $200M or less.”
Fans: “Which is code for ‘we’re gonna keep spending like there’s no tomorrow’ right? Wink*wink Gotcha chief.”
Which says that you have not read a single article that was linked on this website, nor paid any attention to the fans that actually follow the Padres.
The Padres have NEVER said they need to trim payroll. Only Kevin Acee of the SDUT has ever said that and even he admitted that the reasoning he gave in that article was wrong. Every other article to claim the Padres needed to cut payroll linked or referred to his article.
The Padres STILL have never said what opening day payroll will be in 2024. The closest we have is Peter Seidler saying earlier this season that payroll next season would be around the same as this season.
That you are trying to make stuff up to try to make yourself look cute or get thumbs up is pathetic.
The closest we have ? You were on here recently slamming people and claiming that Preller and Gruepner had also said payroll was staying the same. You backtracking on that ? Wise man if that’s the case, because Gruepners quote wasn’t even remotely close to saying that.
The Padres have never said they would or needed to cut payroll. Not once. Not even intimated that they might.
I get what Padsfans is saying. If you weren’t trying to gotcha him you would admit you do too.
Greupner said that they had the financial resources to continue to field a championship level team. They cannot do that if they cut payroll.
Preller said earlier this year that the team would maintain payroll going into the offseason, but has not said anything recently. He never said a specific number.
Seidler said they would stay the course and payroll would be about the same as 2023. He didn’t give any specific number. Interpret that as an approximate CBT payroll of $296 million or an actual payroll of $248 million.
You see, your second paragraph is exactly why people have every right to not take the word of Padre fans as gospel. If you want that, how about a little less emotion and a little more accuracy.
Third paragraph.
Are you trying to say you were not trying to gotcha him? Please show what is not accurate.
What is not accurate about the third paragraph?
Really ? How many championship calibre teams are there with a payroll well south of 250 ?
The statement says nothing. If anything, the deliberate vagueness indicates the opposite of what you insist. Yet you bag everyone who doesn’t take the fans interpretation of those words. Know it all arrogance.
With all the press about cutting payroll, I would think that if it were false, somebody in the Padres org would be denying it to anybody who would listen. Frequently and loudly. I’m not aware ghat they have.
Closest to an actual specific number. Are you really that dense? Wait! Obviously you are.
I would say his know it all arrogance is much, much better than your obvious know nothing about the situation arrogance.
Today Kutsenda echoed Greupner’s statement about continuing to field a championship level team. He also said they would continue Seidler’s vision of bringing a WS win to SD.
None. The Rangers ended at $240 million.
Fire AJ Preller now!
I see the Margot and Tucker thing as a head fake by the NYYs. What is one sure-fire way to create panic and anxiety with a potential trading partner? Consider the landscape: The Pods are in desperate financial straits; their owner just passed away; they’ve got massive issues with RSNs and a ballooning payroll; they have full no move deals with Machado, Bogaerts, Darvish and Tatis. Add to this the fact that there are only a handful of teams that can take on Soto’s money. Mets , Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Rangers, Cubs and possibly M’s. Mets need starting pitching, badly. Their team ERA last year was 4.30. Would the Pods trade Soto to the Dodgers (who are said to be ALL IN on Ohtani)? Possibly for the right package of players. Soto has said on a couple of occasions that he would like to play on the East coast. The deciding factor is which potential trade partner has both the prospects and the ability to take on Soto’s money…for one year. The Yanks meet that threshold along with 1 or 2 other clubs. Would the Yanks do Everson Pereira, Oswaldo Cabrera and Clayton Beeter for Soto and Matt Carpenter? This would allow the Pods to get younger and more athletic while washing nearly $60M per year from their unsustainable payroll. If I’m Preller, I listen real hard on this one.
“Don’t you know who you are speaking to?! I’m the Interim Control Person, I will have you know!”
Lauren Boebert is that you?