As we near the 2026 MLB season, the San Diego Padres have yet to find a potential buyer as the team explores a sale. Last year, the Padres announced that the Seidler family, who control the team following the passing of the previous owner Peter Seidler, were exploring the sale of the franchise.
In November 2025, chairman John Seidler shared a message with the fan base in which he relayed the previous message. He had not commented on the potential sale since. As we move closer to spring training, Seidler responded to questions about the potential sale, saying, “We’ve had tremendous interest. There has been interest — some parties that have been reported in the press, others have not. There are more parties interested than has been reported.”
Possible Relocation for San Diego Padres
Seidler was also asked about the possibility of a new owner moving the team away from San Diego. Padres fans will be happy to know that the option was quickly shut down as Seidler said, “The Padres aren’t moving from San Diego.”
He then added, “A new buyer would be nuts to move the team out of San Diego. We had the second-highest attendance in all of baseball last year. We’ve been in the top five for the last five or six seasons. San Diego is a great place for baseball. Baseball is the only major sport in San Diego right now. So the opportunity is in San Diego, not elsewhere.”
Relocation is likely a sore subject for San Diego sports fans as the city saw the Chargers leave after the 2016 NFL season. San Diego has proven faithful to the Padres as they set the franchise record in attendance during the 2025 season.
Padres Offseason Moves
It has been a busy news week for the Padres as the team has made a flurry of additions to its roster. The biggest news came from the team signing the recently released former All-Star Nick Castellanos. After the Phillies released him, the Padres were able to sign him to a minimum one-year deal as Philadelphia is paying the remaining salary from his previous contract which netted him $20 million in the 2026 season. Castellanos could provide some much needed power to the lineup as he has 250 career home runs.
Additionally, the team brought back first baseman Ty France. France spent the 2019 season with the Padres before being traded during the 2020 season. He was named an All-Star with the Mariners in the 2022 season. However, his performance has recently declined as he has hit below a .700 OPS in each of the past two seasons.
Finally, the Padres added two potential arms to their starting rotation as they signed Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez. Buehler finished top 10 in Cy Young voting twice with the Dodgers, but has struggled since returning from injury in the 2024 season. Since returning, he has a 5.10 ERA in 201.1 innings. Meanwhile Márquez has a 5.67 ERA since being named an All-Star in the 2022 season. In the park adjusted ERA+ stat, Marquez has still been below average as he has an 84 ERA+ since the 2022 season.
Padres Owner Makes Feelings Clear on Possible Team Relocation