MLB San Diego Padres, Song Sung-mun's Team, Approved for Sale With Club Value Valued at Around 5 Trillion Won

Song Sung-mun's team, the Major League Baseball (MLB) San Diego Padres, is set to welcome new ownership.

The Associated Press reported today that the MLB owners' meeting unanimously approved the sale of San Diego to an investment group led by private equity billionaire José Enrique Feliciano and his wife and business partner, Kwanza Jones.

The family of the late former owner Peter Seidler reached an agreement in May to transfer control of the club to the Feliciano couple.

Feliciano and Jones will jointly lead the ownership group.

Feliciano will serve as the controlling owner, exercising final authority over club operations.

During the sale process, San Diego's club value was evaluated at $3.9 billion (approximately 5.5 trillion won), the highest in MLB history.

The previous record was $2.4 billion, paid by Steve Cohen when he acquired the New York Mets in 2020.

When the late owner Seidler and his co-investors acquired San Diego in 2012, the price was around $800 million.

Feliciano, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is the co-founder and managing partner of the private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

He becomes the second Latino controlling owner in MLB, following Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels.

In a joint statement, the Feliciano couple said, "Our goal is to bring a World Series championship to San Diego and build a club that contends for the title every year," adding, "We are all in and committed to winning."

Under the aggressive investment of the late owner Seidler, San Diego has reached the postseason four times in the past six years.

Even this season, having secured 17 wins in their last 24 games, they sit in a National League (NL) Wild Card spot with a record of 67 wins and 58 losses as of the 17th.

If they make it to the fall baseball stage this year, it will mark the first time in franchise history that they advance to the postseason for three consecutive years.

Founded in 1969, San Diego has reached the World Series twice but has yet to win a championship.

The franchise also has deep ties to Korean big leaguers, having previously featured Park Chan-ho (2005–2006), Choi Ji-man (2023), and Kim Ha-seong (2021–2024), with Song Sung-mun currently on the roster.

The procedures for the club sale and transfer of management control are expected to be completed soon.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.