Padres News: Big ownership update, Rickey Henderson passes, minor-league signing

There will be another change in who calls the shots for San Diego in 2025. After Peter Seidler passed away in November of 2023, his business partner Eric Kutsenda took over in the interim for 2024. For 2025 and beyond, control will go back to the Seidler family as Peter's older brother, John, will take over as the control person for the franchise.

The Padres find themselves in a bit of limbo this offseason. Coming off a 93-win season and a trip to the National League Division Series, the Padres are looking to cut payroll from a projected $210 million (according to Roster Resource) to a number closer to the $169 million mark they spent in 2024.

John Seidler to take over as Padres' control person

The first takeaway is the Seidler family is still the controlling group for Padres ownership decisions. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the family has a 45% ownership stake of the team and John Seidler has been part of the franchise's ownership group since 2012.

While there may be a change in the control person, there won't be too many other changes to Padres' senior leadership in 2025. Kutsenda is expected to keep a role with the organization while CEO Erik Gruepner and president of baseball operations AJ Preller will remain in their current positions. Seidler will have to get approval from the league for the move to become official.

Under the Seidler family, the Padres have become more aggressive spenders. They signed Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, and Xander Bogaerts to nine-figure contracts in free agency while also handing out lucrative extensions to star outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth. Under this spending, the Padres have made the postseason in three of the past five seasons and have seen attendance skyrocket. In 2024, the team had an overall attendance of 3.3 million fans, which ranked as the third-highest figure in the National League.

The baseball world mourns the passing of icon Rickey Henderson

The baseball world received some saddening news over the weekend, as Major League Baseball's all-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson passed away. Henderson's death was first reported by Casey Pratt, the chief of communications with the Oakland mayor's office and former broadcaster for Oakland's ABC affiliate.

Henderson was one of the most electric players in the '80s and '90s with a rare combination of both power and speed. He was excellent at getting on base, with a .401 career OBP, then used his speed as a weapon with 1,406 career steals in 1,741 attempts. He was also capable of hitting the long ball, with 299 career home runs and an MLB record 81 leadoff homers.

Henderson played parts of three seasons (1996, 1997, 2001) of his legendary career with the Padres. In 359 games with San Diego, he hit .245 with 23 home runs and 91 steals. He reached some notable milestones in his time with the Padres, passing Ty Cobb for the most runs scored in MLB history and logging his 3000th career hit during the 2001 season.

Padres add outfield depth with minor league free agent signing

The Padres signed outfielder Moises Gomez to a minor-league deal on Dec. 13 and have assigned him to Triple-A El Paso. In 2024, he hit just .208 with three home runs and a .583 OPS with the St. Louis Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate.

Gomez, 26, was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015 and climbed up to Double-A before getting released. He then signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals ahead of the 2022 season. That season he hit .294 with 39 home runs and a .995 OPS with St. Louis' Double-A and Triple-A affiliate before getting added to their 40-man roster that November. After struggling for two seasons in Memphis, the Cardinals released him.

The Padres could be looking at a change in left field, depending on how Jurickson Profar's free agency pans out. Gomez should get the chance to compete for a roster spot in spring training come 2025.