After 22 years, the Tampa Bay Rays will have a different owner as Stuart Sternberg has agreed to sell the team to Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski for $1.7 billion. Sternberg and Zalupski have agreed to the deal in principle and the deal could be official by September.
Sternberg was in his 22nd year as owner of the Rays. Sternberg purchased the Rays from Vince Namoli, the original owner of the Rays for a cool $200 million in 2004. Forbes had the franchise valued at about $1.25 billion which was the second lowest value of any baseball franchise, ahead of only the Miami Marlins.
Several teams in the MLB have been sold recently, including the Baltimore Orioles, who were sold for $1.725 billion in March of 2024.
Zalupski is a home builder in the Jacksonville area, with ties to the Tampa area through land development.
After failing to secure a new stadium deal in Tampa and in their current home city St. Petersburg, there was quiet pressure put on Sternberg to sell the team from the MLB.
In 2007, Sternberg initiated a rebranding of the Rays as the team name was changed from the Devil Rays and was shortened to the Rays for the 2008 season. The Rays went from one of the worst teams in baseball to one of the best. In the 17 seasons since the rebrand, the Rays have the third best record in baseball and have made nine trips to the postseason. Only the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Yankees have reached the postseason more times than the Rays over this 17 year span.
The sale would require the approval of 75 percent of the MLB owners. The best news about the sale is that the Rays will stay in the area. Zalipski has indicated that he prefers a Tampa location for a new stadium versus St. Petersburg.
Other Notes
- Commissioner Rob Manfred has decided that should the Rays make the playoffs, all playoff games, including the World Series, will be played at Steinbrenner Field. There was talk about relocating the playoffs to possibly Miami or Atlanta, but that talk has been shut down for now.
- The Rays are currently 50-47, fourth in the American League East. They are 1.5 games behind Boston for the final wild card spot.
- The Rays are looking for their seventh winning season in the last eight years, and will be trying to secure their sixth postseason appearance in the past seven seasons.