By Kevin Acee | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune
The Padres are about to have a new person in charge.
John Seidler, the oldest brother of late Padres chairman Peter Seidler, has been tabbed to become the team's control person.
In a statement provided to the Union-Tribune in response to inquiries regarding the control person, the team said:
"It has been just over a year since we lost our Chairman Peter Seidler. He would be incredibly proud of the team's grit and performance this past season but mostly grateful to the Padres fans whose loyalty and support inspired them.
"Since Peter's passing, Eric Kutsenda has served as our interim control person. Peter's youngest brother Matt, as trustee of Peter's trust, is pleased to announce that John Seidler, Peter's oldest sibling, an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive, will be the Padres' next control person, pending approval by Major League Baseball.
"Peter never viewed the Padres as 'his' team. Instead, he saw the team as an asset of the community of which he was a faithful steward. John shares Peter's vision and will continue to strengthen and nurture this great franchise, its players, fans and employees, and the entire San Diego community."
John Seidler, 65, has been part of the Padres ownership group since 2012. He has residences in Orange County and San Diego and spends the majority of his time in San Diego.
Members of Peter Seidler's family hold what is believed to be a 45% stake in the team. That group includes his siblings and mother and widow, as well as members of the O'Malley family, scions of former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley.
An MLB team control person must have at least a 15% share of ownership. Among the Padres' other minority owners, the only non-family member to have a stake that large is Mexican billionaire Alfredo Harp Helú.
Eric Kutsenda, a founding partner of Seidler Equity, took over as the franchise's interim control person shortly after Peter Seidler's death in November 2023.
Kutsenda, a friend and business partner of Peter Seidler since the early 1990s, will maintain a role within the organization. The rest of the team's senior leadership, including CEO Erik Greupner and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, are also remaining.
Team officials declined further comment.
A person familiar with the process and the family's plans said the Seidlers intend to own the team for "a long time" and called this move "the ultimate continuity."
The Padres made the postseason in 2024 with a payroll nearly $100 million lower than the previous year.
Peter Seidler had overseen a dramatic increase in spending since he took over as control person following the 2020 season, a period that culminated in the Padres ranking third in payroll in 2023.
The influx of star players and increased winning -- the Padres have made the playoffs three of the past five years -- has contributed to franchise attendance records the past two seasons. The Padres are also going to be revenue-sharing payors for a third consecutive year in 2025.
But even before Seidler's death, the team had begun to point toward a future in which they balanced their large contracts with more affordable players and kept their payroll more toward the middle of the MLB rankings.
That transition to what they believe is a more sustainable way of operating in a smaller market is expected to continue with John Seidler in charge.