Padres Fans Won't Love the Latest Payroll Update After Appointing New Control Person

Maren Angus-Coombs | Feb 10, 2025

Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres fans before game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs between the Padres and Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball owners have unanimously approved John Seidler, the older brother of Peter Seidler, as the control person of the San Diego Padres. His appointment will be finalized once he officially assumes the role of trustee for Peter Seidler’s trust, a process expected to take around 30 days.

While his appointment could move the lawsuit filed by Peter's widow Sheel Seidler along, it also comes with some disappointing news regarding the payroll.

After reaching record spending levels under Peter Seidler, the Padres have maintained a much more restricted budget for the second straight offseason. This cautious approach is expected to persist under John Seidler, at least for the near future, according to The Athletic.

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John Seidler, a nephew of former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, has been a Padres minority owner since 2012, when Peter Seidler and San Diego businessman Ron Fowler led a group to purchase the team.

Peter Seidler became the control person in 2020 but passed away in November 2023 due to an infection related to a compromised immune system. Following his passing, longtime friend and private equity firm co-founder Eric Kutsenda took over as interim chairman.

On Dec. 21, just over a year later, Matt Seidler announced that he had selected John Seidler as the team's permanent control person, pending approval from three-quarters of MLB owners.

Then, on Jan. 6, Sheel Seidler filed a lawsuit in Texas probate court, challenging control of the Padres and accusing Matt and Bob Seidler of fraud and fiduciary breaches in their roles as successor trustees of Peter Seidler’s trust.

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It was later disclosed that the two brothers, along with Eric Kutsenda, had previously initiated arbitration proceedings against Sheel Seidler over some of the claims in her lawsuit.

Sheel Seidler's lawsuit requested the court to nullify John Seidler’s appointment as control person and instead appoint a neutral third party to oversee the trust. Legal experts suggest that resolving the dispute could take months or even years.

“We approved John Seidler to be the control person of the San Diego Padres once he becomes the trustee of the Seidler trust,” commissioner Rob Manfred said from the MLB owners meetings. “We’re looking forward to continued stewardship of the Padres by a member of the Seidler family, that is really non-controversial.”

“We have an estate plan, a succession plan that Peter filed, clear and written, what he intended, he added. "And we followed the process that is laid out in the plan. That is the trustee appointing a successor control person.”

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