Small-market success or cautionary tale? Why Padres fit both sides of MLB's labor debate — SkimNews
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- The San Diego Padres sold for $3.9 billion — nearly five times the $800 million price from 2012 — with new owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones taking over after late owner Peter Seidler's death in November 2023.
- Under Seidler's ownership, the Padres' payroll climbed from $180 million in 2020 to over $250 million by 2023, trailing only the Yankees and Mets, while attendance surpassed 3 million fans annually starting in 2023.
- MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer said in June the union wants to "encourage more San Diegos," pointing to the Padres' blueprint of investing in a small-market franchise as proof a free-market system can produce competitive teams.
- Padres ownership figures, including star Manny Machado and CEO Erik Greupner, frame Seidler's spending as shrewd long-term investment, with Greupner saying Seidler viewed the team through "decade-long increments" rather than chasing a single championship.
- The Padres still owe a combined $810 million to Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Jackson Merrill after this season, with $116 million still on the books in 2033, when Machado and Bogaerts will be in their age-40 seasons.
- ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked the Padres' farm system last heading into this season, a product of GM A.J. Preller repeatedly trading prospects to supplement a payroll-heavy roster — what one rival GM called a future that "is going to get ugly."
- Rival owners and league officials argue the Padres' model can't be replicated, noting the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals were pulled off the market while franchise valuations for smaller-market teams continue to lag behind the NBA and NFL.
Why it matters: With $810 million still owed to four stars and a last-ranked farm system, the Padres themselves embody the open-market risks owners cite in pushing a cap. The union, however, wants to 'encourage more San Diegos' through expanded local media revenue sharing — meaning the franchise's record $3.9 billion sale will anchor both sides' arguments in the next CBA fight.
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