Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Pirates Interested In Alex Verdugo
It’s been a pretty quiet offseason for the Pirates, with their most prominent moves to date including the acquisition of first baseman Spencer Horwitz (in exchange for righty Luis Ortiz) and the re-signing of franchise icon Andrew McCutchen on another one-year, $5MM deal. The Bucs were said last month to be exploring the bullpen and corner outfield markets, and that appears to still be the case. Robert Murray of FanSided more specifically reports that Alex Verdugo is one name in whom the Pirates have interest.
Verdugo, 29 in May, is coming off a down season with the Yankees — his lone season in the Bronx. The former second-rounder and top prospect got out to a big start in his lone Yankees season, slashing .275/.362/.450 through his first 140 plate appearances. He tanked thereafter, posting just a .221/.270/.330 slash over his final 480 trips to the plate. Overall, he finished out the season with a .233/.291/.356 batting line — about 17% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+.
Ugly as those results were, they stand as something of an anomaly in contrast with the rest of Verdugo’s career. While he’s never broken out into stardom, Verdugo was a solid regular in the outfield corners from 2019-23, batting a combined .283/.338/.432 in 2448 plate appearances with the Dodgers and Red Sox from 2019-23. That’s “only” about six percent better than league average, but he coupled that production with quality corner outfield grades (per both Defensive Runs Saved and, to a lesser extent, Outs Above Average). Verdugo has never been a big power bat — he’s reached a career-high 13 home runs in three different seasons, including 2024 — but rarely strikes out (career 15.1%). He’s tied for fifth in the majors in doubles dating back to 2020.
Verdugo’s lack of over-the-fence pop and his middling finish to the 2024 season combine to drag down his earning power in free agency. Given his lackluster ’24 showing and his age, he seems likely to take a one-year deal and return to the market next winter, hopefully on the heels of a steadier and more productive performance. He’d still only be entering his age-30 season, an age at which plenty of outfielders find lucrative multi-year deals.
Bucs fans may be exhausted with the notion of one-year deals for veteran rebound candidates, but that’s the free-agent reality in which the team typically operates under current ownership. Verdugo would fit the bill and fill a position of need. As it stands, Pittsburgh’s outfield projects to include Bryan Reynolds, shortstop-turned-center-fielder Oneil Cruz and perhaps Joshua Palacios, though in-house options like Jack Suwinski and Billy Cook could get consideration this spring as well. Verdugo would more prominently step into an everyday role alongside Reynolds and Cruz.
As things stand, the Pirates’ projected payroll is a paltry $79MM, per RosterResource. That’s about $8MM south of last year’s $87MM mark. Having filled their first base need inexpensively via the Horwitz acquisition, there ought to be additional (albeit modest) spending power to bring an outfielder of Verdugo’s caliber into the fold and perhaps still add a free agent reliever to the mix. Earlier in the offseason, the Phillies signed Max Kepler to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM. Verdugo is younger but has less power and defensive upside; a contract in that general range seems possible, but he doesn’t seem likely to command more than that.
Rangers Sign Chris Martin
Jan. 7: Martin’s deal with the Rangers guarantees him $5.5MM, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Murray adds that Martin turned down more money from other clubs to return to his hometown club for what’ll be the final season of his career. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox were one team that made a more lucrative offer.
Jan. 6: The Rangers announced the signing of veteran reliever Chris Martin to a one-year deal. Financial terms remain unreported. Martin is represented by ISE Baseball. Texas designated Matt Festa for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
Martin, an Arlington native, heads home for what’ll likely be his final season. The 38-year-old righty said in September that he’s 95% confident he’ll retire after 2025. That’s not because of a dip in effectiveness. Martin remains a capable high-leverage arm and is coming off a strong two-year run in Boston.
The Red Sox inked Martin to a $17.5MM free agent deal over the 2022-23 offseason. It was a bit of a gamble considering his age, but the nine-year MLB veteran made good on that investment within one season. Martin turned in a dazzling 1.05 earned run average across 51 1/3 innings in 2023. He earned a couple down-ballot Cy Young votes in the process.
Last season was more good than dominant. Martin worked to a 3.45 ERA while throwing 44 1/3 innings. He had a brief injured list stint related to anxiety in the middle of June. Martin also missed a month with elbow inflammation between early July and the first week of August. He returned with 10 innings and only one earned run over the next couple weeks before allowing six runs in eight September frames.
Martin was almost certainly not going to manage an ERA around 1.00 in consecutive seasons. His strikeout and walk profile actually improved last year. He fanned 27.8% of batters faced after running a 23.1% strikeout rate in 2023. Martin cut his already pristine walk rate from 4% to a career-low 1.7% clip. He’s arguably the best strike-thrower in the majors. No pitcher with at least 100 innings over the last three seasons has issued walks at a lower rate than Martin (2.6%).
Over his two seasons with the Sox, Martin managed a 2.16 ERA across 95 1/3 innings. He has found success at every stop since returning from a stint in Japan between 2016-17. That includes a previous run in Texas. The Rangers were the team that gave Martin a chance during the 2017-18 offseason. He combined for 79 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA ball before being traded to the Braves at the 2019 deadline.
Texas has loaded on up on short-term additions to fix a bullpen that could lose each of Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc and José Ureña. They’ve signed Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner on one-year contracts worth $2.5MM or less. Texas also brought in southpaw Robert Garcia from Washington in the Nathaniel Lowe trade. While finances on Martin are unreported, it’s fair to assume he’ll be the most expensive of Chris Young’s bullpen acquisitions to this point. Still, there’s limited downside with a one-year deal.
Martin is the most experienced of the Texas relievers. He has worked in a setup capacity throughout his career and has never saved more than four games in a season. It’s unclear if the Rangers plan for him to close or will use him in leverage spots. Yates and Robertson have far more closing experience and are still free agents. Whatever the role, Martin adds much needed stability to a bullpen that might still be the team’s biggest question.
Texas signed Festa, 31, to a minor league deal last season. The Rangers selected his contract in August. He made 18 appearances over the final six weeks, working to a 4.37 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. The righty had made a brief appearance for the Mets earlier in the year. He has spent the bulk of his career with the Mariners, with whom he posted a 4.32 ERA in 89 outings over four seasons. Texas will have five days to trade Festa or place him on waivers.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Yankees Shopping Marcus Stroman
The Yankees’ eight-year deal for Max Fried gave them one of the deepest collection of major league starting pitching in the sport. Fried joined Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman and the since-traded Nestor Cortes in a long line of Yankee rotation options. While the trade of Cortes to the Brewers loosened that logjam (and significantly bolstered the bullpen, bringing Devin Williams in from Milwaukee), the Yankees still have six big league starters, most of whom are earning significant salaries. With that in mind, it’s not exactly surprising to see Bob Nightengale of USA Today report that New York is “actively trying to deal” Stroman.
Stroman’s name has already popped up in trade rumblings since the Fried signing. The Yankees pitched a Stroman-for-Nolan Arenado framework to the Cardinals, which was rebuffed by St. Louis. (Arenado has a no-trade clause, but the scenario was reportedly not even presented to the third baseman, as the Cardinals weren’t interested.) Given those efforts, it’s only natural that the Yankees have explored other possibilities as well.
Stroman, 34 in May, is entering the second season of a two-year, $37MM contract. He pitched decently during year one of the pact, logging a 4.31 ERA in 154 2/3 innings, but his strikeout rate (16.7%) and ground-ball rate (49.2%) were a far cry from his typical standards. Stroman punched out 21% of opponents from 2019-23 and kept the ball on the ground at a robust 53.2% clip over that same span. Similarly, the velocity on his sinker dipped quite a bit; from 2019-23, Stroman averaged 92 mph on the pitch (91.4 mph in ’23). In 2024, he averaged just 90 mph on that sinker.
Left-handed hitters, in particular, proved problematic for Stroman. They tagged him for a .296/.372/.474 batting line. He fanned just 14.3% of lefties, compared to 19% of fellow righties. With Stroman playing half his games at Yankee Stadium, lefties took full advantage of the short right-field porch. He surrendered 15 of his 19 home runs at Yankee Stadium in 2024 and pitched to a grisly 5.31 ERA at home. On the flipside, he sported a tidy 3.09 ERA on the road.
That road production and a generally successful track record should create at least some interest in Stroman elsewhere around the league, though perhaps not at the full freight of his $18.5MM salary this coming season. Trade discussions are surely complicated by the fact that the highly durable Stroman also has a vesting player option on his contract. With 140 innings pitched in 2025, he’d gain a player option for $18MM. Were that a club option, it wouldn’t be quite so problematic; that it’s a player option means that even if Stroman struggles or incurs a late-season injury, he’d be able to lock in that $18MM payday in 2026. Stroman has averaged 159 inning across the past five full seasons in which he’s pitched.
That player option, presumably, only creates more urgency for the Yankees to find a deal. They already have Cole, Fried and Rodon locked in for a combined $85MM in 2026 (including Fried’s slightly deferred signing bonus, which is paid half in 2025 and half in 2026). Schmidt will be in his third trip through arbitration as a Super Two player, while Gil will be in his first arb season in 2026. In total, it could mean a rotation earning a combined $100MM.
Stroman is arguably the sixth-best starter in that group of six at the moment, and paying him $18MM in 2025 and potentially again in 2026 understandably may not be a palatable course of action for the Yanks. That’s especially true when considering the team’s luxury tax status; they’re currently in the top penalty bracket for luxury status. Moving Stroman would trim more than $35MM in 2025 spending. The Yankees will be on the hook for 50-110% penalties on their luxury overages in 2026, depending on where the exact payroll ultimately lands. Again, that could mean a savings of $27-37MM, depending on if his player option comes into play.
While the player option surely gives other teams some pause, Stroman’s contract itself isn’t necessarily all that far underwater. The offseason has already seen 37-year-old Alex Cobb and 41-year-old Charlie Morton command $15MM one-year deals — Cobb’s coming after he made only three starts in 2024. Frankie Montas landed two years and $34MM with an opt-out upon signing with the Mets. The price for starting pitching has generally exceeded all expectations. Stroman at a year and $18MM, even with the conditional player option, isn’t necessarily egregious. Plus, if Stroman hits the 140 innings and pitches more like his 2021-23 self (3.45 ERA in 454 1/3 innings), he could well turn down the option and reenter free agency anyhow.
The Yankees aren’t likely to extract any kind of notable young talent in return for Stroman, but swapping him out for another veteran on a contract of some note or eating a portion of the contract and acquiring some longshot prospect help could still be feasible. There are still five weeks until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, and the market in recent offseasons has produced plenty of notable trades even after camps open. There should still be time for a deal to come together.
The Opener: Athletics, Relief Market, MLBTR Chat
With the hot stove roaring back to life after going dormant over New Year’s, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. What’s next for the A’s?
The Athletics have engaged in their busiest winter in recent memory as they head from Oakland to West Sacramento. In December, the club added Luis Severino and Gio Urshela in free agency while swinging a trade for Jeffrey Springs. Last night, they kicked off 2025 by working out a five-year extension with current face of the franchise Brent Rooker. That extension also has the side effect of boosting the roster’s payroll for luxury tax purposes, with RosterResource now estimating the club’s tax payroll to be in the range of $97MM.
The A’s reportedly need to get that number into the $105MM range in order to avoid risking a grievance from the MLBPA. That likely leaves just over $8MM in spending for the A’s to do this winter, at minimum. Club brass hasn’t ruled out the addition of another starting pitcher, and a reliever to serve as a veteran setup option for closer Mason Miller could also make plenty of sense.
2. Is the relief market coming to life?
Speaking of the relief market, that’s been by far the quietest corner of free agency this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Blake Treinen, and Yimi Garcia standing as the only notable signings, though there have been some notable trades (headlined by the trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees). The latest major free agent relief signing of the offseason took place yesterday, when the Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with veteran setup man Chris Martin. Meanwhile, the Braves became the latest team to be connected to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott as he reportedly seeks a deal that could guarantee him an annual salary in the $20MM range. It’s unclear how close Scott might be to signing, but with a glut of late-inning talent still available it’s difficult to imagine the dam not breaking sooner rather than later.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
It’s time for the first weekday chat of 2025. Twenty-six of the players on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list for the winter have signed, putting us just beyond the halfway point in the offseason by that metric. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for noon CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Latest On Tanner Scott’s Market
Tanner Scott remains unsigned as the top reliever in a slow-moving free agent class. The hard-throwing southpaw and right-hander Jeff Hoffman have been the best bullpen arms available all winter.
There hasn’t been much recent chatter on Scott, though that doesn’t appear to reflect a quiet market. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the All-Star closer is expected to receive interest from multiple big-market teams. Cotillo’s MassLive colleague Sean McAdam indicates that Scott could receive something like $20MM annually on what would surely be a multi-year contract.
The Dodgers have been most frequently linked to Scott. He was reportedly on the Yankees’ radar before they orchestrated the Devin Williams trade. The Athletic’s David O’Brien adds another team to the mix, reporting that the Braves have done background work on Scott. Cotillo indicates that the Red Sox are exploring the top of the reliever market generally, though that report doesn’t firmly link them to Scott in particular.
If Scott were to hit the $20MM AAV marker, he’d join rare company. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there are only two relievers who have signed for that amount — and those each come with asterisks. Nick Martinez accepted a $21.05MM qualifying offer from the Reds this offseason. That’s a one-year commitment and Martinez is capable of starting. The only reliever to land $20MM+ on a long-term deal is Edwin Díaz. He signed a five-year, $102MM extension with the Mets two seasons ago. That came with upwards of $26MM in deferred money, though, dropping the net present value closer to $93MM. By that measure, Díaz’s true average annual value could be in the $18-19MM range.
By measure of NPV, Josh Hader set a new standard for reliever contracts with his five-year, $95MM term last winter. Hader has a longer track record than Scott, so it’d be a surprise if the latter got five years and an AAV around $20MM. A four-year deal should be in play, though. MLBTR predicted Scott for a four-year, $56MM deal at the beginning of the offseason. McAdam’s report may indicate that the bidding has pushed beyond that number.
Scott brings rare velocity from the left side. He averaged 97 MPH on his four-seamer and sat in the 88-89 range with his slider. Scott has topped 70 innings with an earned run average below 2.50 in consecutive seasons. He fired 72 innings of 1.75 ERA ball with a 28.2% strikeout rate between the Marlins and Padres last year. Scott added 4 1/3 scoreless frames with seven strikeouts in October, including a handful of punchouts of Shohei Ohtani during their Division Series matchup with the Dodgers.
The price tag complicates the Braves’ pursuit but doesn’t necessarily rule them out. Atlanta’s only free agent activity this offseason has been a trio of low-cost split contracts. They’ve rearranged the Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López contracts and offloaded the final two years of the Jorge Soler deal. Whether that’s to reallocate payroll space to a major acquisition or a reflection that they’re simply working with a tight budget remains to be seen.
President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said at the Winter Meetings that the Braves weren’t wedded to staying below the luxury tax threshold. Atlanta has paid the tax in consecutive seasons. RosterResource estimates their CBT number for next season around $218MM. That puts them $25MM shy of the $241MM base threshold. They could sign Scott and remain narrowly below the tax line. Atlanta could lose A.J. Minter to free agency. They’ll be without Joe Jiménez for most or all of next season. Bummer, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee project as the top setup arms in front of closer Raisel Iglesias.
Brewers Re-Sign Jake Bauers To Minor League Deal
The Brewers brought first baseman/corner outfielder Jake Bauers back on a minor league contract this afternoon, the team announced. He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Bauers spent the entire ’24 season in Milwaukee. The Brewers acquired the lefty hitter from the Yankees early last offseason. Bauers took 346 plate appearances across 116 regular season games. He hit .199/.301/.361 with 12 longballs and 13 stolen bases. Bauers walked at a strong 11.3% clip but fanned 34.1% of the time.
That has essentially been the story of his major league career. Bauers carries a .208/.302/.361 batting line in more than 1700 trips to the plate between five teams. He has shown league average power with good walk rates but too many strikeouts. He grades as an average defender at first base with subpar marks on the outfield grass.
While Bauers didn’t have a great regular season, he briefly looked to have cemented himself in franchise lore. In the decisive third game of Milwaukee’s Wild Card series with the Mets, Bauers came up as a pinch-hitter in a scoreless game in the seventh inning. He crushed a no-doubt home run off José Buttó to put Milwaukee ahead. That looked as if it might be a game winner until Pete Alonso’s ninth-inning heroics carried the Mets to victory.
That swing wasn’t enough to keep Milwaukee from running Bauers through outright waivers at the end of the season. He elected free agency but circles back for a second season with the Brew Crew. Rhys Hoskins is back as Milwaukee’s projected starter at first base. Bauers could again compete for a left-handed bench or platoon role.
Reds Designate Roansy Contreras For Assignment
The Reds announced they’ve designated Roansy Contreras for assignment. The move opens the necessary 40-man roster spot for Gavin Lux, whose acquisition from the Dodgers is now official.
Contreras hasn’t spent much time with the Reds. Cincinnati grabbed him off waivers from the Rangers a couple weeks ago. Texas had just claimed him from the Angels a month before that. The 25-year-old righty seems ticketed for the waiver wire for a third time in as many months.
Once one of the game’s better pitching prospects, Contreras was a key piece of the package that the Yankees sent to the Pirates for Jameson Taillon. He had a decent debut season with the Bucs in 2022, turning in a 3.79 ERA across 95 innings. He looked like a long-term rotation piece at the time, but his production has dropped sharply over the last two seasons.
Contreras struggled to an ERA near 7.00 across 68 1/3 MLB frames in 2023. He exhausted his last minor league option that year. The Pirates carried him in the season-opening bullpen in ’24. He pitched 12 times in medium-leverage spots before the Bucs took him off the roster. They dealt him to the Angels for cash in May. Contreras played out the year with the Halos in a long relief role, posting a 4.33 ERA with subpar peripherals in 37 appearances.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Contreras owns a 5.47 earned run average over 136 2/3 innings. His 18.5% strikeout percentage and 10.5% walk rate are worse than the respective MLB averages, as is his 1.4 home runs allowed per nine. The performance and the inability to send him to the minors without putting him on waivers could lead to him continuing to bounce around the league. Contreras has intrigued a few teams as a depth arm, as he sits around 95 MPH with his four-seam fastball and throws six different pitches.
Reds Acquire Gavin Lux
The Dodgers and Reds have announced a trade sending Gavin Lux to Cincinnati for outfield prospect Mike Sirota and the Reds’ Competitive Balance Round A selection. The competitive balance pick — the only kind of draft choice that can be traded — lands at 37th overall next summer.
L.A. general manager Brandon Gomes had downplayed the possibility of trading Lux late last week, but it seems the Dodgers intend to play free agent pickup Hyeseong Kim at second base. Lux is going into his age-27 season. The left-handed hitting infielder was a first-round pick in 2016 and had emerged as one of the top prospects in baseball by the time he was promoted at the end of the ’19 season. Lux has been a solid big leaguer but not the kind of star that many evaluators had hoped.
The Dodgers didn’t give him consistent big league run until 2021. He struggled offensively that season, hitting .242/.328/.364 through 102 games. His bat took a step forward the following year, as he hit .276/.346/.399 through 471 trips to the plate. Lux looked like the starting shortstop going into 2023, but he tore his right ACL during Spring Training and wound up missing the entire season.
Lux returned from injury last year. He was healthy in Spring Training and expected to start at shortstop. A series of throwing errors during exhibition play called that into question. By the middle of Spring Training, Los Angeles announced that Lux would slide back to second base while Mookie Betts tried his hand at shortstop. Lux had started his professional career on the left side of the infield but encountered throwing accuracy issues in the minors as well.
The start of the season did not go well. Lux was the weakest link in the L.A. lineup in the first half. He carried a .213/.267/.295 batting line into the All-Star Break. The Dodgers stuck with him and were rewarded with a huge showing down the stretch. Lux hit .304/.391/.508 in 61 games during the second half. The end results were exactly league average. Lux finished the year with a .251/.320/.383 showing in 487 plate appearances. His 24 doubles and 10 home runs were both personal highs. Lux’s postseason numbers were unimpressive, though he did drive in the tying run in the eighth inning of what proved to be the decisive Game 5 victory in the World Series.
That will go down as Lux’s final at-bat in a Dodger uniform. He entered the offseason as the projected starter at second base. The Dodgers somewhat surprisingly signed Kim, who’s coming off a .326/.383/.458 showing in his final season in South Korea, to a three-year deal last week. That only guaranteed $12.5MM, a modest sum that aligned with most scouting reports that suggested Kim projected as a utility player in MLB. The Dodgers initially indicated they felt the same way, but it seems that was about not publicly telegraphing that they were shopping Lux.
Betts is expected to return to shortstop after finishing last season in the outfield. Kim looks like the starting second baseman with Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor behind them in utility roles. Tommy Edman can play the middle infield but projects as the starting center fielder. It would have been difficult to carry each of Lux, Kim, Rojas and Taylor on the 26-man roster. The Dodgers could’ve opened a spot by designating Taylor for assignment, but they preferred to cash Lux in for future value. It’s a surprising decision for a team that hopes to repeat as World Series winners. The Dodgers apparently feel that the downgrade from Lux to Kim won’t be substantial.
The Reds may not have everyday at-bats to offer either. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests Lux is likely to assume a utility role at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati has Elly De La Cruz at shortstop and will welcome Matt McLain back at second base. Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, each of whom is coming off a down year, project as the corner infield tandem. Lux has only started one major league game at third base, where his throwing accuracy could be problematic. He saw limited action in left and center field between 2021-22.
If Cincinnati feels Lux could handle third base, that’d be his clearest path to playing time. They could also use Lux at second base and slide McLain to the hot corner. It’s another infield acquisition for the Reds, whose seeming surplus has become a question mark over the past 12 months. They’ve traded away Jonathan India. Candelario and Encarnacion-Strand are rebound hopefuls. Noelvi Marte missed half the season after a failed performance-enhancing drug test and didn’t play well when he returned. McLain is coming back after losing all of 2024 to shoulder surgery. Among Cincinnati’s talented infield group, only De La Cruz took a step forward last season.
Lux has between four and five years of major league service. He’s under arbitration control for two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a modest $2.7MM salary. The Yankees and Mariners were reportedly also in contact with the Dodgers regarding Lux. They’ll need to turn elsewhere to address their respective infields.
Sirota, 21, was Cincinnati’s third-round pick last summer. He’s a righty-hitting outfielder who hit .298/.473/.513 against mid-major competition during his draft year at Northeastern. Baseball America’s draft report praised his speed and potential for above-average defense in center field. Sirota’s 6’3″ frame offers some physical projection, but BA writes that his bat path plays more for low-angle contact than power.
The Reds didn’t get Sirota into any game action after the draft. He spent the final two months of the season at the team’s Arizona complex. The Dodgers’ amateur scouting department has had its eye on him for a while, though. Los Angeles drafted him in the 16th round out of high school in 2021. It was clear by that point that Sirota — whom BA had ranked among the top 200 prospects in that year’s class — was likely headed to Northeastern, but teams frequently take late-round fliers on talented high schoolers in case a deal with a higher draftee falls through and leaves unexpected space in the team’s bonus pool.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Reds were finalizing a deal for Lux. Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic confirmed a Lux trade was in place. KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander was first with Sirota and the Competitive Balance pick heading back to Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Imagn.
Peter Seidler’s Widow Files Lawsuit Against Peter’s Brothers For Control Of Padres
6:59pm: The Peter Seidler Trust released a statement on Monday evening (relayed by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times). It calls Sheel Seidler’s complaint “entirely without merit.” The Trust claims that Peter Seidler had a “clear estate plan” which names three of his brothers as successor trustees. The Trust alleges that Peter Seidler “prohibited” his wife from ever becoming trustee and that Sheel Seidler agreed in 2020 “that she had no right to be or to designate” the franchise’s control person.
The Trust did not directly address Sheel Seidler’s claims that Matt Seidler could pursue a sale and relocation. However, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that sources around the league consider the idea of the Padres leaving to be “extremely far-fetched.”
2:31pm: Last month, it was reported that the Padres would be appointing John Seidler to take over as the club’s new control person, but that was still pending league approval and there are new developments in that story. A report from Eben Novy-Williams and Daniel Libit at Sportico has details of a lawsuit filed by Sheel Seidler, Peter’s widow, trying to gain control of the team. Sheel later released a statement in relation to the story.
At issue is how things have proceeded in the wake of Peter Seidler’s death, which was just over a year ago. Peter was part of a group that purchased the Padres in 2012. Ron Fowler acted as the club’s control person until Peter took over after the 2020 season. MLB teams are often owned by multiple people but each team has one designated control person who is a point of contact for the league and votes on key matters.
During Peter’s ownership tenure, the club became known for being highly aggressive, despite being in a relatively smaller market. As shown in the data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Padres had been one of the lower-spending clubs for much of the century, until recently. They had one of the top ten payrolls in 2021, then got into the top five in 2022 and the top three a year after that.
That led to a huge increase in terms of fan engagement and also results, with the club having now made the postseason in three of the past five seasons. However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. In September of 2023, it was reported that the club’s wild spending had put it “out of compliance with MLB regulations regarding their debt service ratio,” which was going to lead to a payroll crunch. Peter, who had a number of ongoing health problems, died less than two months later.
Shortly after Peter’s death, it was reported that a new control person had been decided upon. Eric Kutsenda, one of the co-founders of Seidler Equity Partners, was given the title on an interim basis. Just over a year later, the aforementioned reporting from last month indicated that Peter’s brother John would be taking over as control person. The report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune included a statement that mentioned two of Peter’s brothers: “Peter’s youngest brother Matt, as trustee of Peter’s trust, is pleased to announce that John Seidler, Peter’s oldest sibling, an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive, will be the Padres’ next control person, pending approval by Major League Baseball.” Acee added that the Seidler family owns “what is believed to be a 45% stake in the team.” That includes Peter’s brothers, widow, mother and others.
Today’s lawsuit suggests that segment of the ownership group is not aligned in their thinking. According to Sportico’s report, Sheel’s lawsuit alleges that two of Peter’s brothers, Matt and Bob, breached their fiduciary duties as trustees of the Seidler Trust. The suit claims they conspired to sell trust assets to themselves at “far-below-market prices,” as they “schemed to solidify their control of the Padres.”
The suit also suggests that the brothers had racial and sexist motivations for keeping the club out of Sheel’s hands, saying that Bob’s wife made multiple “racist, profane and hateful communications directed at Sheel—a woman of Indian descent—in communications.” Sheel claims that Peter wanted to eventually pass the club to his kids and wanted her to act as control person in the interim, with the brothers now trying to “falsely cast themselves as Peter’s true heirs.” Evan Drellich of The Athletic relays one section of the suit which suggests Matt wants to “sell, and perhaps relocate, the team, over Sheel’s strident objections.”
Sheel is seeking damages, that the defendants be denied compensation from the Seidler Trusts, to void any of their previous actions relating to advancing the Padres’ control person and also that Matt be removed as the trustee, with a receivership taking control of the trust.
“Earlier today,” Sheel’s statement reads, “I filed a complaint against Matthew Seidler and Robert Seidler to protect my family and to continue to carry out Peter’s legacy.” She goes on to talk about how much the club meant to the family and her desire to be named control person. “The complaint alleges claims against Matthew and Robert for breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud. I would urge anyone who is interested in the details to read the full complaint. This was not a decision I made lightly. During this difficult period, I have done everything in my power to avoid unwanted distractions and resolve the matter privately. I have focused on supporting the work of the many dedicated professionals within the Padres organization, as well as the incredible players we have the privilege of watching nearly every day throughout the season. I made this decision as a very last resort, but I am confident it is the right one, and the best way to protect the Padres franchise and ensure the vision that Peter and I shared for the team will continue.” She goes on to state her desire that the team will one day be left to hers and Peter’s children while hoping for a quick resolution to this dispute.
Legal disputes over a baseball club are not unprecedented. Most recently, Orioles owner Peter Angelos fell into ill health, which led to his family members filing multiple lawsuits against each other for control of the club. Those suits were eventually dropped and the club was sold to David Rubenstein.
