Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano introduced as new owners of the San Diego Padres after MLB approval

José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones are being introduced Monday at Petco Park as the new owners of the San Diego Padres, formally ushering in a new era for the franchise after Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transfer of control on Aug. 17.

The takeover is both a landmark business deal and a pivotal moment for one of baseball’s highest-spending clubs. The agreement has been widely reported, including by The Associated Press, as valuing the franchise at $3.9 billion — a record for an MLB franchise sale. Monday’s introduction also brings public finality to an ownership transition that followed the death of Padres chairman Peter Seidler in November 2023 and months of uncertainty over the club’s future.

Under MLB’s governance structure, Feliciano has been designated the Padres’ “control person,” the individual formally recognized by the league as responsible for the club. At the same time, the Padres’ top day-to-day leadership is staying in place. MLB said CEO Erik Greupner and President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller will remain in their current roles, signaling continuity on both the business and baseball sides.

The sale process unfolded over several months. The Seidler family said in November 2025 that it would explore a possible sale of the team. A definitive agreement to transfer control to the Jones-Feliciano group was announced May 2. MLB owners then voted unanimously on Aug. 17 to approve the deal. In its announcement that day, the league said “the closing of the transaction and ownership transition is scheduled to occur in the coming days,” while Padres coverage published Monday said the transaction was completed shortly after the vote.

The reported $3.9 billion valuation would set a new high-water mark for an MLB franchise transaction, surpassing the $2.4 billion sale of the New York Mets in 2020. That figure underscores how valuable the Padres have become even though they are in one of the smaller media markets in the sport. It also reflects the club’s rise under Peter Seidler, who pushed the Padres into a more aggressive competitive and financial posture.

That is part of why the ownership change is being watched so closely around baseball. The Padres have been among the sport’s more aggressive spenders in recent years and have reached the postseason four times in the last six seasons. For a franchise that has tried to operate like a perennial contender rather than a small-market outpost, questions about ownership stability have carried obvious implications for both business strategy and on-field ambitions.

Commissioner Rob Manfred, in MLB’s Aug. 17 release, thanked the Seidler family as the transition moved forward, saying, “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I thank John Seidler and the entire Seidler family for their stewardship of the San Diego Padres.”

The new owners struck a similarly ambitious tone. In the same release, Jones and Feliciano said: “Our ambition is clear: to bring a World Series championship to San Diego and build an enduring organization capable of competing for championships year after year. We intend to be engaged owners, bringing our energy, experience, and perspective while working alongside the talented team already in place and investing ambitiously and thoughtfully in the Padres’ future. … We are all in and committed to winning.”