“We approved John Seidler to be the control person of the San Diego Padres once he becomes the trustee of the Seidler trust,” commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday from the MLB owners meetings. “We’re looking forward to continued stewardship of the Padres by a member of the Seidler family, that is really non-controversial.”

Major League Baseball owners voted Thursday to approve John Seidler as control person of the Padres. Usually, such a vote involves a transfer of ownership. Thursday, the unanimous vote was merely a handoff to the brother of former Padres chairman Peter Seidler, who died in November 2023.

The vote to give John Seidler control of the Padres was unanimous, coming after a lawsuit by Peter Seidler's widow to gain stewardship of the franchise.

Baseball owners voted Thursday to install John Seidler, the oldest brother of the late former Padres chairman Peter Seidler, as the team’s control person. “We’re looking forward to continued stewardship of the Padres by a member of the Seidler family,

Major League Baseball’s team owners are expected to confirm John Seidler as the Padres’ control person in a vote Thursday morning, a move that will be pending his taking over as trustee of Peter Seidler’s trust. Whether the lawsuit brought by Sheel Seidler contesting control of the team ends up affecting the appointment remains to be seen.

The San Diego Padres offseason was dormant until the Seidler family provided more boardroom drama than an episode of HBO’s Succession. Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved John Seidler as the team’s control person during their meetings in Palm Beach,