The Padres’ ownership feud is reportedly coming to an end.

Since Peter Seidler died in 2023, the legal battle between his widow, Sheel Seidler, and his brothers, Matt and Bob Seidler, has been headlined in San Diego. It even affected the team’s payroll as the owners imposed a strict spending freeze starting in the 2025–2026 offseason.

However, a ray of hope ahead as the Padres ownership is shifting to Chelsea’s owner-led consortium.

“A group led by Chelsea co-owner José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, is nearing a deal to buy the Padres for a record-breaking $3.9 Billion,” Talkin’ Baseball reports.

The amount itself is a record and first in MLB. As of now, the Mets are the most expensive MLB team, having been sold when Steve Cohen bought it for $2.4 billion in 2020. Private equity billionaire Feliciano and his wife’s $3.9 billion bid easily dwarfs the Mets’ valuation.

While the deal is yet to be made official, reports say the announcement might be made by next Tuesday.

Feliciano is no stranger to the sports business, as his Clearlake Capital bought the EPL’s Chelsea FC for $3.16 billion. Before venturing into MLB, Feliciano reportedly tried his hand at other American Sports like the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos. However, he was unsuccessful both times. This time, probability is the highest, and Feliciano will be second after the Red Sox’s owner, John Henry, who has a connection with an EPL franchise.

Reportedly, Henry is also the owner of Liverpool FC.

And with this, the Padres’ years of struggle regarding their payroll could come to an end. For the 2026 season, the Padres decided to keep payroll short of their 2025 levels (around $212 million in 2026 against $223 in 2025). Their payroll crunch forced them to let go of marquee names like Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez, and Robert Suarez. This time, if the Padres could become the most expensive team, who knows, maybe they would pull off something like the Mets did with Juan Soto last year!

The Padres are in dire need of getting back to Peter Seidler’s era. They were then known for aggressive spending and a willingness to push the franchise into contention. “We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter’s legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise’s long-term success,” John Seidler said in a statement at the time.

Under Peter Seidler, the Padres ranked 3rd in payroll in 2023 ($283). Under him, the Padres shattered franchise attendance records, drawing over 3.27 million fans in 2023. Hopefully, the new owners would be proactive enough to get back the lost status of the Padres. Till then, the players are the only ones to make it happen.

The Padres are playing like a contender

Despite their ownership tussle and a non-significant increase in payroll, the Padres might be the hottest team right now in MLB. They are now standing with a 7-game winning streak and rank second in the NL West with a 13-6 record. The Rockies and Mariners were steamrolled as San Diego went on to continue their winning streak.

The Padres might be one of the few teams currently in MLB whose defense and offense both seem to be working perfectly. And the most surprising part is how they are scoring runs despite staying low in power-hitting. For example, the Padres are ranked 19th in terms of scoring HRs (17), yet they scored 90 runs till now.

On Thursday, Fernando Tatis Jr. scored 1 run and 2 RBIs, and he’s hitting .250. If that sounds good, Tatis is yet to score a homer this year, and this makes his longest home-run drought to start a season. Still, it proves that despite lacking power-hitting, the Padres are still putting runs on board.

The Padres’ pitching staff also seems to be getting luck on their side. In the spring, they signed Walker Buehler for a minor league deal. Fans were surprised to see the Padres land someone who struggled with the Red Sox last year (5.45 ERA). Buehler joined the rotation after Nick Pivetta’s injury and recorded 7 SOs from his 5 innings on Thursday.

So, the team is looking like a contender in 2026, and the transfer of ownership should hopefully pace it up.

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