Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg being pressured to sell team

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Though a sale is not imminent, Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg is being pressured to sell his team by several people in the league, including MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich.

Manfred and “some other owners” are reportedly pressuring Sternberg to sell the franchise, though it’s unclear who else is involved or how hard they are pressuring him. While a sale of the team is not close, there are reportedly several groups with interest in purchasing the team, including the family of Edward DeBartolo Jr.

The pressure to sell the team comes amid Sternberg’s renewed quest to find a new stadium, which is something he has been doing for nearly two decades now. Sternberg and local officials in St. Petersburg have been working toward a $1.3 billion proposal for a new stadium after Tropicana Field was destroyed by Hurricane Milton last year. That has forced the Rays to play home games at the New York Yankees’ minor-league complex this season.

The stadium proposal appears to have hit several roadblocks amid a funding dispute between the team and the city. It’s unclear if it will get done, and there is a March 31 deadline in place for several aspects of that plan.

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Even though a sale of the team seems far off, MLB reportedly does not want the Rays to move out of the Tampa Bay area market, whether that is under Sternberg’s watch or a new ownership group. MLB believes the region can support the franchise, per the report, and it does not want to give up a potential expansion city to move the Rays.

MLB did not comment on The Athletic's report Sunday night, and Sternberg did not confirm anything. While the organization's future appears murky, it appears that calls for a new ownership group to take over will only increase if the current stadium deal falls apart later this month.

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